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Attending the ® ABA TechShow 2008 was a great experience.  Maybe it was because my colleague and I traveled by train to Chicago, or maybe it was because our double room at the Chicago Hilton had two closets and bathrooms.  Most likely, it was because of the excellent programs and extensive Expo Hall.  We were lucky the train and hotel kept us well rested; the ABA TechShow is intense!  The American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section put together 50 sessions covering 16 topical tracks.  (Download the Program Guide.)  With seven simultaneous sessions and nearly 120 exhibitors, it was hard to take it all in.  Fortunately each registration packet came with a CD of handouts and supplementary materials.  A month after the conference, attendees received a link to the Power Points.  I will be delving into the sessions I missed for the rest of the year.

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I keep tripping over this thing called GTD®.  Gobbling Turkey Day?  Getting There Directions?  Going To Disney World?  While I would love any one of those things, it actually stands for Getting It Done® and it is one of those ubiquitous management phrases floating around.  According to The David Allan Company’s website, “GTD^® is the popular shorthand for “Getting Things Done^®“, the groundbreaking work-life management system and book by David Allen that transforms personal overwhelm and overload into an integrated system of stress-free productivity.” The David Allen Company, The Definition of David Allen’s Getting Things Done®, (2008), http://www.davidco.com/what_is_gtd.php.  I’m not hawking the book or the system, but I am a fan of using technology to help me accomplish the things I need to in as efficient a way as possible.  Unfortunately, I’ve had all too much contact with technology that becomes a black sink hole of my time!  Thus, I’ve compiled a list of some of the more useful technology tips that help me, and can maybe help you, save time.

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The 2008 recipient of the CS-SIS Kenneth J. Hirsh Award is Mark Folmsbee, Associate Dean of Computer Services and Associate Director of the Law Library at the Washburn University School of Law. Mark has been a guiding force in law school and law library technology for nearly 20 years and has been a leader in the CS-SIS and AALL.

An early innovator, Mark established the AALLnet site online in the 1990’s. He hosted the site at Washburn University School of Law using Telnet and a Lynx Web client. He also hosted the first AALL email lists, including the listserv for the Automation and Scientific Development SIS – the predecessor to the Computing Services SIS. (more…)

Congrats to our two grant winners this year, Stacey L. Rowland from the University of Mississippi and Raizel Liebler from John Marshall Law School. The CS-SIS grant covers their conference registration fees to attend the annual AALL conference.

The Web 2.0 Challenge — a free, comprehensive, and interactive online course — will use hands-on exercises to introduce law librarians to many kinds of social technologies in just five weeks.  The course is intended for those who have little experience with these technologies but are interested in learning more.

Although enrollment in the course is now full, anyone may follow along with the course as a guest.  Most of the course content will be available to you.  To access the course, go to http://www.cssis.org/Web20Challenge/login/ and select “Login as guest”.

The course is scheduled for the five weeks after the AALL Annual Meeting (July 21-Aug. 24, 2008).  You may follow along with this schedule, or at your own pace if you prefer.

If you’re planning to attend the AALL Annual Meeting, we invite you to attend session H1, Cool Tools: Energizing Law Librarianship with Web 2.0 on Tuesday from 9:00 to 10:30.  Bonnie Shucha will be leading one of the showcases in which she will discuss the Web 2.0 Challenge and preview the course content.

If you have any questions about the Web 2.0 Challenge, please contact course organizers, Bonnie Shucha  <bjshucha@wisc.edu>, Debbie Ginsberg <dginsberg@kentlaw.edu>, or Meg Kribble <kribblem@nsu.law.nova.edu>.