Libraries / Librarians, Texas

Law Librarians Being Awesome

Thanks to unjust state policies, this may be the last time the American Association of Law Libraries conference is held in Texas.

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Today concludes the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) 110th (110th!) Annual Meeting and Conference.  It is being held in Austin, Texas. It is perhaps the last time it shall come to the state.

Why?  Quite simply, AALL’s change reflects the application of a policy called “justice.”  And Texas is passing all sorts of legislation that is unjust.

It’s been interesting immersing myself in a world different from my own.  From the keynote speaker to its impressive call to action about the State of Texas’s treatment of vulnerable populations, the conference has a different tone to it than most law professor conferences, all the while talking about things I couldn’t begin to understand about legal research.  (Although I do understand that AI is going to kill us all.  I’ve watched Battlestar Galactica. I know.)

The most awesome thing about the conference, however, was this letter AALL sent out a letter to Texas mayors and visitors bureaus announcing its decision not to come back to Texas, in light of recent legislation to allow discrimination against LGBTQ populations in terms of denying adoption to LGBTQ families.  Worse, the state has decided to allow welfare agencies to send LGBTQ children to “conversion therapy,” a dubious practice banned in more civilized states.   Don’t take my word for the potentially damaging effects caused by conversion therapy.  Read about it yourself.

To top it off, Texas’s special session will contemplate its now infamous “bathroom bill.”  Large companies have lined up against the bill.  Nonetheless, I suspect the Texas Legislature will pass the bill, in some sort of race to the bottom against North Carolina.

This isn’t the state’s first intervention injuring local economies.  Texas banned sanctuary cities recently.  San Antonio and Austin have been fighting that battle, in large part because it affects their economies.

Not that the cities are always on the side of the angels.   Austin notoriously banned Uber and Lyft from its city gates, a move lifted (no pun intended) by the Texas Legislature.   Competitive restrictions rarely have angelic notions as their goal.

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So, why punish the cities (San Antonio and Austin) when it’s the state that is causing the problem and not the cities?  Quite simply, AALL can’t separate the benefits to the city from the benefits to the state.  More importantly, AALL is serious about protecting its own members.  Asking its LGBTQ members to come to a state that is so openly hostile to them, to spend money in that state, is an insult.  AALL’s letter states, “AALL is proud to call many LGBTQ people members of our Association.”  Proud.  Thank you.

An AALL representative, President-Elect Greg Lambert, was spotted on the local news in Austin, talking about the issue.  I can’t help but think this was a bit of strategic action, speaking truth to power.   As the AALL letter states, “AALL believes that our Association, and our nation, are strongest when all people, regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, disability, religion or national origin, come together and celebrate our differences.”

And by strongest AALL doesn’t just mean smarter.  It means that society is just.

I write all of this because, a year ago, I wrote a column called, “Have you Thanked Your Law Librarian?”  I write this column to remind you that it’s time to thank them again.

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LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 law school. You can see more of his musings here.  He is way funnier on social media, he claims.  Please follow him on Twitter (@lawprofblawg) or Facebook. Email him at [email protected].

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