Cornell Law Library Leader Wins Légion d’Honneur

I was at the most recent annual conference of the American Association of Law Libraries or AALL (July 14-17) in New Orleans.

I was expecting to bump into Claire Germain, former president of the Association, and Cornell University law librarian/law professor. She attended the past 2 annual conferences of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (Edmonton, 2006 and Ottawa, 2007). As past AALL president, I was sure she would there in New Orleans.

Germain was not in attendance.

By the most improbable of coincidences, I bumped into her after the conference in the departure zone at the Philadelphia International Airport. She was catching a connection to Ithaca, New York just minutes before I got on a flight home to Ottawa. Her plane’s gate was just across the corridor from mine’s and she came over to greet a few of the Canadian law librarians she recognized as we milled about.

The reason Mme. Germain, who is from France, could not be in New Orleans: she was in Paris receiving the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur medal, the French Republic’s most prestigious award. She received it for her efforts in bridging the American and French legal cultures. Mme. Germain’s grandfather also received the Légion d’Honneur for his services as a colonel in the French army during World Wars I and II.

In the past, France has recognized others who have distinguished themselves in the field of legal research and legal information.

Back on November 16, 2005, I posted an item entitled Top French National Award Given to Legal Documentation Specialist that described the awarding of the Ordre national du mérite by then French President Jacques Chirac to Mme. Marie-Aleth Trapet, an auditor with France’s Cour de cassation. The award was for her contributions to French legal documentation.

The Ordre national du mérite is the second highest award of the French Republic, after the Légion d’Honneur. It was created by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. The Légion d’Honneur was created by Napoléon Bonaparte.