20 Law Library
1999 was a busy and challenging year for the Law Library, with major
technical and personnel changes being the hallmark. Foremost amongst these
events was the replacement of the Library's PALS computer system with Endeavor's
Voyager system, with Law Library staff being involved in both the selection and
implementation of the system during both 1998 and 1999. On the personnel front,
most notable was the resignation of Nick Pengelley, Law Librarian for the past
six years, as well as the retirement, after some 19 years of service, of the Law
Library's government publications officer Brenda Stampe. A highlight of the year
was the excellent performance of the Law Library in the Library-wide client
survey undertaken in April and, on the electronic front, the expansion of the
Library's remotely available online services, in particular the Lectures Online
service, which was enthusiastically embraced by Law students during 1999.
Voyager Library System Following the launch of the OPAC, cataloguing and
circulation modules early in the year, many staff hours were spent in both
ongoing fine-tuning of these modules in response to user and Library staff
feedback, and the complex implementation of the acquisitions and serials
modules.
Nick Pengelley, Law Librarian, left the University at the end of October to take
up the position of specialist librarian in a new Centre for Innovation at the
University of Toronto Faculty of Law's Bora Laskin Law Library. With the
departure of Nick, Lisa Smith was appointed to the position of Customer Services
Librarian, with responsibility for the day to day management of the Law Library.
Other staff to depart the Law Library were Brenda Stampe, who retired in May,
and Dario Etienette, who was appointed Law Faculty building manager at the end
of October.
Joey Law joined the Library briefly early in the year, replacing Sandra
Tyers, before returning to Hong Kong in June. Her position was filled by
Gabrielle McLeod, who joined Michelle McConachie (in Brenda's position) as new
Law Library staff members.
Nick Pengelley and Lisa Smith attended the 2nd AustLII "Law of the
Internet" Conference in Sydney in July, with Nick, together with Lee Poh
York, also attending the Asian-Pacific, Specials, Health and Law Librarians
Conference in Hobart in August. A number of Law Library staff attended Voyager
and MMS training during 1999, as well as SAP training sessions during the latter
part of the year.
Nick Pengelley and Lisa Smith were the local coordinators of the 18th IALL
Course of International Law Librarianship Conference, held in Melbourne in
September. A number of Law Faculty staff also gave papers at the Conference.
Library responded to the final report of the library-wide client survey
conducted in April, in which the Law Library performed extremely well. Whilst
minor issues arising from the survey were addressed, larger issues of extended
library opening hours and increased photocopiers were addressed at the macro
Library level.
The Pacific Law collection was relocated to the current closed stacks area
during December. The new joint Pacific Law and closed stacks facility provides a
much larger area for the Pacific Law collection than was previously available,
and may also be used for Library staff meetings once some refurbishment,
including repainting, has been completed. The old Pacific Law room became an
additional discussion room for use by students.
During 1999 the Law Library was in a relatively stable financial position,
maintaining 1998 subscription levels and purchasing high quality resources for
its collection during the year. The implementation of the Voyager acquisitions
module during the latter part of 1999 made accurate estimation of budgetary
figures difficult to determine, although any remaining monies (particularly for
serials commitments not spent in the current year) have been carried over to the
year 2000 budget.
The trend towards increasing emphasis on remote delivery of online services,
primarily via the Web, continued during 1999, with decreasing reliance on
CD-ROMs and on-campus only access to electronic resources. The award-winning
lectures online service, which enables students to listen to lectures from home
or on-campus via the Web, proved extremely popular with Law students throughout
1999.
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