At the International Association of Law Libraries (IALL) Board Meeting held in conjunction with the IALL’s 32nd Annual Course on International Law Librarianship in Barcelona, Spain in September last year the Board of Directors made the following awards:
- Life Membership to three retired members; and
- Honorary Memberships to two other members of the Association.
The Constitution of the IALL states in Article V Section 4 that, “Any person who has been a regular member of the Association for more than twelve years and who has retired may be elected life member of the Association by the Board of Directors”.
The Constitution of the IALL states in Article V Section 5 that, “Any person may be elected honorary member of the Association by the Board of Directors for outstanding and distinguished service to the Association”.
The Life Memberships were awarded in recognition of many years of active membership and distinguished service to the Association and were granted to the following members who have retired from the profession.
Professor Emeritus Larry Wenger, University of Virginia Law School. Larry was formerly Law Librarian and Professor of Law at the Law School from 1976-2002. He served not only as a member of the Board of Directors but also as an Officer of the Board in the positions of First Vice-President 1993-1995, President 1995-1998; 1998-2001 and Immediate Past President 1993-1995. Holger Knudsen when taking over from Larry as President in 2001 wrote:
Among the many contributions Larry has achieved for the IALL, one deserves particular mention: his most successful introduction of a new organisational structure which has created a sound financial basis for our Association, which until then was regrettably poor and dependent, a financial basis on which his successors, through no merit of their own, will be able to rely. Larry’s name shall be written in Platinum Letters in our history book. We shall miss his good advice, his modesty, and his quiet, yet efficient manner to tackle problems and to deal with new trends: semper suaviter in modo, semper fortiter in re.
Mrs Marie-Louise Bernal, formerly of the Law Library of Congress, served not only in various positions as Treasurer 1992-1995, Secretary 1998-2001 and Second Vice-President 2001-2004, but also as Editor of the International Journal of Legal Information (IJLI). Holger Knudsen wrote in his final President’s Report of 2004 the following words:
The Journal continues to be one of the pillars on which IALL rests, owing to the endless hours that Malo Bernal has invested to make it a great and much acclaimed publication. Thank you Malo!
Mrs Ann Morrison, formerly Law Librarian at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada served not only as a member of the Board of Directors but also as an Officer of the Board in the positions of Secretary 2001-2004; 2004-2007 and Treasurer 2007-2010. In her role as Secretary for the Association, apart from the onerous task of taking Minutes for Board meetings and Annual General Meetings, Ann undertook the coordination and verification of ballot papers and voting for the new IALL Constitution . During her term as Treasurer Ann participated in a major review of her new role which included a significant streamlining of budgetary procedures.
The Honorary Memberships, awarded in recognition of outstanding and distinguished service to the Association, were granted to the following two members of the Association who are still serving in their respective roles as Directors of two major Institutions.
Prof. Dr. Holger Knudsen, Director of the Library of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, served not only as a member of the Board of Directors, but also as an Officer of the Board in the positions of Second-Vice President 1998-2001, President 2001-2004 and Immediate Past President 2004-2007.
Mr Jules Winterton, Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London, served not only as a member of the Board of Directors, but also as an Officer of the Board in the positions of First-Vice President 2001-2004, President 2004-2007 and Immediate Past President 2007-2010.
Our congratulations and sincere thanks to each of these members. They have played a significant role in shaping the growth and development of the Association and have undertaken their many and varied voluntary roles with a sense of loyalty, goodwill and good humour. Their contribution to the professional growth, expansion and global recognition of the Association is to be greatly applauded. It is only fitting that they are recognised by these awards.
Petal Kinder