Who Should Be in the International Law Librarians Hall of Fame?

In 2010, when the American Association of Law Libraries inducted 78 law librarians in its inaugural Hall of Fame, I noted in a Slaw article that eight of them had made major contributions to the profession of foreign, comparative, and international law (FCIL) librarianship. And I wondered what criteria could there be for induction into an International Law Librarians Hall of Fame, and who would be initial inductees. Jolande Goldberg was on that list, and she was inducted into the 2019 AALL Hall of Fame this past July. It’s been almost 10 years, so I thought I’d revisit my list. I asked on the INT-LAW Google Group and the IALLMembers listserv for suggestions, so herewith are some possible new inductees into the fictional International Law Librarians Hall of Fame (IntLawLibHOF). I hope it becomes a reality.

Criteria for Inclusion

The possible criteria for induction into the International Law Librarians Hall of Fame that I created in 2010 are as follows:

• Has the candidate received award(s) for distinguished or outstanding service from his or her national law library association?
• Has the candidate received recognition of important contributions in and out of the field of FCIL librarianship?
• Has the candidate received recognition outside the country or international institution in which he or she works as an FCIL librarian or legal information professional?
• Have others written Festschriften or other memorials in honor of the candidate?
• Have there been oral histories or interviews of the candidate? (see for example, the “An Oral History of Law Librarians” series via HeinOnline and YouTube “Oral Histories” playlist)
• Did the candidate edit or found major FCIL print or electronic publications?
• Has the candidate made significant contributions to FCIL literature?
• How many citations to the candidate’s work appear in scholarly literature?
• Did the candidate help create or take on leadership roles in major FCIL library organizations such as ALLA, CALL, IALL, NZALL, OSALL, etc.?
• Did the candidate mentor of other FCIL librarians?
• Did the candidate readily share information and generously help other FCIL librarians?
• Did the candidate recruit others and show initiative in promoting FCIL librarianship?
• Did the candidate build an excellent FCIL collection?

New Possible Inductees

In addition to the 18 potential nominees I listed in my 2010 article,[1] here are some new candidates suggested for induction into the IntLawLibHOF[2] who seem to meet two or more of the criteria I created. I have added information about their FCIL-related accomplishments that I could find quickly:

• Francisco A. Avalos: Author of Legal History of Mexico (2017), The Mexican Legal System (1992, 2000, 2013), and Latin American Legal Abbreviations (1989)(with Arturo L. Torres); contributor to GlobaLex of articles on researching the law of Mexico, NAFTA, CAFTA, and the inter-american system of human rights; Mexico section update, Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation; Chair, AALL FCIL-SIS, 1995-1996.
• Robert C. Berring: AALL Hall of Fame Induction: 2014; Co-author, Introduction to International Legal Research (with Marci Hoffman). Author of many legal research publications incorporating foreign, comparative, and international law sources, including Bob Berring’s Commando Legal Research.

• Richard A. Danner: AALL Hall of Fame Induction: 2014; IALL Board Member (1998-2001 ex officio, 2001-2004); Co-director, AALL/Oceana Co-Director Institute on Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems (1993); Co-author, Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems (New York: Oceana Publications, 1994)(with Marie-Louise H. Bernal); “Defining International Law Librarianship in an Age of Multiplicity, Knowledge, and Open Access to Law.” In IALL International Handbook of Legal Information Management 1-21 (Richard A. Danner & Jules Winterton eds., 2011); Recipient of the 2012 AALL Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award for IALL International Handbook of Legal Information Management.
• Arturo A. Flores: Co-author, Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World (Littleton, CO: F.B. Rothman, 1989-2007)(with Thomas H. Reynolds), aka Foreign Law Guide & Reynolds & Flores).
• Balfour Halévy: AALL Hall of Fame Induction: 2010; Founding librarian, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University; Recipient, AALL Marian Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award, 2000 (first Canadian to receive the award); Honoured Member of Canadian Association of Law Libraries = L’Association canadienne des bibliothèques de droit (ACBD), 1998; co-founder, Canadian Law Information Council = Conseil canadien de la documentation juridique.
• Marci Hoffman: General Editor, Foreign Law Guide (FLG) & Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP); Co-author, International and Foreign Legal Research: A Coursebook (2008 & 2012)(with Mary Rumsey); Co-author, Introduction to International Legal Research (2008 & 2017)(with Robert C. Berring); Chair, IALL Communications Committee, 2010-2013; 2013-2015; Recipient, 2009 Daniel L. Wade FCIL-SIS Outstanding Service Award; Co-director, University of Minnesota Human Rights Library website; Developed the American Society of International Law (ASIL) Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL).
• Petal Kinder: IALL Board Member, 2004-2019 (President, 2010-2013); President, Australian Law Librarians’ Association (ALLA), 2007-2008 (and various stints on the ALLA Board); Former CEO, Little William Bourke (publisher of the Victorian Reports); Author, GlobaLex legal research guide for Australia.
• Ralph Lansky: Director Emeritus, Library of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Private Law = Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht (Hamburg, Germany); Past chair, Arbeitsgemeinschaft für juristisches Bibliotheks-und Dokumentationswesen (AjBD); Jürgen Christoph Gödan & Holger Knudsen, Bibliothek und Recht–international : Libraries and Law–international: Festschrift Ralph Lansky (1991).
• Teresa M. Miguel-Stearns: Part of Yale team partnership that helped launch GOALI, Global Online Access to Legal Information; Contributor to Latin American legal information resources including a chapter on collecting the Law of Latin America in Latin American Collection Concepts (2018)(with Julienne Grant); Recipient, 2010 Daniel L. Wade FCIL-SIS Outstanding Service Award; Editorial Board, International Journal of Legal Information (IJLI).
• Pedro Padilla-Rosa: President, Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL), 2006-2007; IALL Board Member, 2007-2010; 2010-2013; 2013-2014; Member, Standing Committee, IFLA Law Libraries Section; Recipient, Premio Vilma Rivera de Bayrón (2006) from the Asociación de Bibliotecarios de Derecho de Puerto Rico (ABDPR), Líder en el Campo de la Información en Puerto Rico (2007) from the Escuela Graduada de Ciencias y Tecnologías de la Información, Universidad de Puerto Rico, and the ACURILEANA Medalla de Excelencia from ACURIL (2007).
• Kathleen Price: AALL Hall of Fame Induction: 2011; Co-editor, International Access to Legislative Information—A Preliminary Investigation (Sarasota, FL: UNIFO Publishers, Inc., 1992)(with Win-Shin S. Chiang); Author, “Beyond Books and Libraries: Providing Foreign, Comparative and International Legal Information in the 90’s and Beyond.” In Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems 327-337 (Richard A. Danner and Marie-Louise H. Bernal, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana, 1994); Involved in building international legal information networks, training the next generation of foreign and international law librarians, and developing a U.S. national law library to serve the world legal community (the Law Library of Congress).
• Mirela Roznovschi: Founder and Honorary Editor of the award-winning GlobaLex (2007 IALL Website Award); Recipient, 2013 Daniel L. Wade FCIL-SIS Outstanding Service Award from the AALL Foreign, Comparative & International Law Special Interest Section.
• Mary Rumsey: Co-author, International and Foreign Legal Research: A Coursebook (2008 & 2012)(with Marci Hoffman); Contributor to the Foreign Law Guide and other FCIL publications; Recipient, 2009 Daniel L. Wade FCIL-SIS Outstanding Service Award.
• Milagros Rush: Co-founder, INT-LAW (international law librarians listserv)(with Lyonette Louis-Jacques); Recipient, 2011 Daniel L. Wade FCIL-SIS Outstanding Service Award.
• Roberta I. Shaffer: IALL Officer, 1992-1995; 1995-1998; 1998-2000); Co-editor, Introduction to Transnational Legal Transactions (sponsored by the American Association of Law Libraries, New York: Oceana Publications, c1995)(with edited by Marylin J. Raisch).
• Maria Smolka-Day: Co-editor, Introduction to International Business Law: Legal Transactions in a Global Economy (sponsored by the American Association of Law Libraries; New York: Oceana Publications, c1996)(with Gitelle Seer); Contributor to Sources of State Practice in International Law (2002 & 2014) and Information Sources in Law (1997); 2009 Daniel L. Wade FCIL-SIS Outstanding Service Award.
• Willi Steiner: IALL Officer, 1974-1980; Founding member, British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL); BIALL President, 1985-1988; Librarian, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (1968-1982); General Editor, Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (1968-1984).
• Judith M. Wright: AALL Hall of Fame Induction: 2013; Co-Chair and Editor, AALL National Legal Resources Committee, Planning Session on Training the Next Generation of Foreign and International Law Librarians, 1991–93; Training the Future Generation of Foreign and International Law Librarians: Issue Papers, Summary, Action Plan (Judith Wright ed., Littleton, Colo.: Fred B. Rothman, 1992)(AALL Occasional Papers Series No. 12); 1991 AALL Town Meeting (audiocassettes); Chair, LLMC/CRL Global Resources Law Steering Committee, 2011–13.

As with the previous list, I would like to suggest that libraries, research institutes, publishers, and other legal information content providers be included in the International Law Librarians Hall of Fame. Examples include William S. Hein, Law Library of Congress, LLMC-Digital, Oceana Publications (no longer exists, but played an important role in advancing international law librarianship), Oxford University Press, Peace Palace Library, and the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library.

It would be great for the IntLawLibHOF to not only be used to recognize active international legal information professionals, but also those who have retired, or have passed away. And having a centralized location with biographical information about these extraordinary international law librarians would be wonderful. Speaking of which, readers are welcome to add comments about additional possible inductees into the fictional International Law Librarians Hall of Fame below!

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[1] Here is the 2010 IntLawLibHOF list in alphabetical order (descriptions of their FCIL-related achievements are in the original article): Claire M. Germain, Jolande E. Goldberg, Sidney Hill, Igor I. Kavass, Holger Knudsen, Blanka Kudej, Denis Le May, Rubens Medina, Dietrich Pannier, Thomas H. Reynolds, William Roalfe, Fred B. Rothman, Ellen Schaffer, Adolf Sprūdžs, William B. Stern, Diana Vincent-Daviss, Daniel L. Wade, Jules Winterton.

[2] I was not able to include everyone suggested in the new IntLawLibHOF candidates list due to time constraints, but please add their names and FCIL librarianship-related accomplishments to the Comments section if I missed anyone.