New Horizons
By Shirley H. David, Sacramento County Public Law Librarian

There is always something new on the horizon both for law library services and for library staff. You may have already noticed the new library catalog. The new library records management system is called Horizon. Our previous Dynix system vendor provides the software, which is much more user friendly with its Windows look. The switch to new software consumed our spring. It required migrating library records and making thousands of decisions to customize the software, then learning the new system. Please excuse our dust as we continue to learn the new system and adjust our processes.

Ruth Nunez, our Assistant Director for Public Services, is retiring and moving east. Ruth has been with the library since September 1989. She joined us as our first full-time reference librarian. If you were a professor or student at McGeorge Law School during the 1980’s, you know she also worked at the McGeorge Law School Library. Stop by the library on Friday, July 23 for an informal open house farewell party. We will be putting together a memory book for Ruth. If you would like to contribute, send remembrances, well wishes, and pictures to my attention at sdavid@saclaw.lib.ca.us or by mail to 813 6th Street, First Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814.

As you know, I am retiring and moving west to the island of Hawaii. My retirement party is scheduled for Friday, September 17. It will be dinner dance at the Embassy Suites in Old Sacramento. Don’t put away you Hawaiian shirts until after the party, as it will have a Hawaiian theme. Contact Coral Henning at chenning@saclaw.lib.ca.us at 874-5625 for details and ticket information.

By the time you read this article, the new director will have been selected. I know you will welcome this person into the legal community as you have made me a part of it these last twenty-one years.

Also headed east is Faye Jones, former director of the Gordon Schaber D. Law Library at McGeorge Law School. Faye has accepted the director position at the Florida State University Law School Library. Kim Clarke has been named acting Law Library Director at McGeorge while a search for the new director is made.

As search for a new model for California county law libraries is also underway. The county law library task force established by the Legislature and chaired by our own Judge Michael Garcia plans to have their draft recommendations available for comment by October. Their report is due back to the legislature January 2005.

When some of the library board members and librarians head east to the annual meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries in July, we will be accepting two prestigious awards. The library will be receiving the West/AALL Excellence in Marketing Award for our 2003 Public Relations Toolkit. The Law Library News and Surfing from River City columns in the Sacramento Lawyer are significant contributions to our award winning tool kit. I will also be receiving the Marian Gould Gallagher Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession. I am pleased that so many our library board members who spearheaded my nomination for this very significant professional award will be there to celebrate with me.

Since this is the bench and bar issue of the Sacramento Lawyer it is also the appropriate time to thank the wonderful law library board and advisors who continue to advise and guide the library. My librarian colleagues are in awe of your commitment and vision for making sure our community has the best possible county law library. It is a model for other public law libraries around the county. Thank you, Judge Jeffrey Gunther, Judge Loren McMaster, Judge Renard Shepard, W. Austin Cooper, Robert A. Ryan, Jr., Carly Hegle, Joan Stone, and Glenn Ehlers.