History

The Michigan Association of Law Libraries (MichALL) was formed on September 16, 1976 at a gathering held in conjunction with the Michigan State Bar Association in Southfield, Michigan.

At that time a steering committee chaired by Georgia A. Clark, Wayne State University, was formed. Georgia became the first President. The first meeting of the new organization was held on March 9, 1977 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The chapter was incorporated in the State of Michigan on October 1, 1981. MichALL became a chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries in the early 1980’s.

The membership represent academic, law firm, court, bar, public, government and corporate libraries. Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids are well represented with the remainder of the membership distributed throughout the state of Michigan.

MichALL holds an annual meeting in the Spring. The Board meets monthly. Both educational programs and a business meeting are conducted at the annual meeting. Education programs have covered a broad variety of areas of law librarianship. MichALL has held several joint meetings with Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries, and has participated in the regional meeting in Albany (1987), Chicago (1989) Columbus (1992) Toronto (1996) and Milwaukee (1998). Members may participate in shaping association activities by way of several committees.

Officers, 2024-2025

President

Allie Penn, PhD

Vice President/President-Elect

Kathryn Polgar

Treasurer

Joe Anteau

Secretary

Don Killinger

Member-at-Large

Emmeline Birchall

Member-at-Large

Abigale Mumby

Past-President

Donyele Darrough

Committee Information

MichALL has four committees which are committees are composed of a liaison from the Executive Board, the chairperson, and individuals who have designated their interest in committee activity on the annual membership renewal form. If you are interested in getting involved in one of the committees, please contact the chairperson designated. Or thanks to those who have indicated their willingness to work!

Media Committee:

Chair: Allie Penn

Responsibilities:

develop strategies to best promote MichALL in social media platforms

oversee the production of the Newsletter

establish editorial policies governing the Newsletter with the approval of the Executive Board

publicize the activities of the Association

explore relations with other organizations concerned with law or librarianship in Michigan

explore methods of improving public access to legal information; to recommend to the Executive Board programs, workshops, and projects that will improve such access

Education & Elections Committee:

Chair: Kathyrn Polgar

Responsibilities:

plan the educational activities of the Association

propose to the Executive Board any programs, workshops, publications, or other activities that advance the education of Michigan law librarians

work with the Vice President in planning the annual meeting program(s)

implement the provisions of Article X of the Bylaws regarding the nomination and election of the Association’s officers

propose to the Executive Board any scholarships

Membership Services Committee:

Chair: Joe Anteau

Responsibilities:

send renewal notice messages to the MichALL listserv starting in mid-June
develop and implement a member recruitment plan

Archives Committee:

Chair: Don Killinger

Responsibilities:

establish protocols for managing organization records and retention
work with organizations involved in the preservation and storage of Association records

MichALL Bylaws

You can find our bylaws here.