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Moyra McAllister

As today's organizations increasingly expand their scope internationally, their success depends on their ability to think and act globally with speed and confidence.  And as essential contributors to that success, librarians are being asked to access international information on an almost daily basis. Therefore, building a global network is a critical component in transforming your library into an arsenal for worldwide information. 

The LexisNexis Librarian Relations Group knows the importance of building relationships. It's an integral part of our core mission. So, in keeping with that mission and with the theme of the upcoming 2004 AALL Annual Meeting, From Boston to Mumbai: The World of Legal Information, we want to help you become acquainted with some of our colleagues around the world. 

On a monthly basis during 2004, the Infopro Web site will spotlight a law librarian from a different country. This month, our spotlight is on Moyra McAllister, National Library Manager at Blake Dawson Waldron in Australia.

A VOICE FROM 'THE LAND DOWN UNDER'

Australia, the only country in the world that is also a continent and an island, offers a stunning array of resources, from the vast outback and Great Barrier Reef to a vibrant multicultural society and temperate weather. While its location south of the equator makes Australia geographically distant from many other areas of the world, modern technology makes it easy to 'visit' Australia and develop relationships with those who live there.

Moyra McAllister, National Library Manager at Blake Dawson Waldron, an Australian law firm, believes that Australians have always experienced the "tyranny of distance" and, as such, were early adopters of technology and embraced the Internet with zeal. This progressive approach has proved to be beneficial in today's world, where global connections are used daily to communicate and exchange information with others around the world. 

Moyra's background is interdisciplinary and diverse in nature. After receiving a BSc (Hons) degree in Chemistry from Queens University of Belfast, Moyra continued at Queens to receive a Diploma in Library Studies (with commendation) the following year. Her career path has covered many facets of the librarian profession, including positions at the National Science Library of Canada, schools, higher education, business, parliament, and, most recently, a law firm. In her current position as National Library Manager at Blake Dawson Waldron, Moyra is responsible for a network of libraries in five states of Australia. In addition, her office has responsibility for the information needs of the firm's overseas offices that do not have formal libraries. 

When Moyra's librarian career began, the photocopier was considered to be on the cutting-edge of technology, most research was done manually and, according to Moyra, was more "leisurely" than it is today. While the expansion of the Internet obviously streamlines the process of finding information and facilitates a greater exchange of ideas, Moyra believes that it has also spawned a frenetic approach to information retrieval that is not always positive. Moyra encounters many people who perceive information as being instantly and freely available on the Internet, thus causing them to impose unrealistic deadlines on their research requests. In addition, the proliferation of resources on the Internet has made people less able to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources, and unclear as to the importance of using value-added services like LexisNexis. Thus, she sees one of her primary challenges as helping her clients discern when they have found dependable information on the Internet. 

According to Moyra, the development of technology has not only impacted the way people find information, but also the types of information that people are seeking. Moyra notes that, when she joined Blake Dawson Waldron 10 years ago, most research requests were for legal information. Now, the requests have expanded to include information on companies, patents, economic trends and industry developments. In addition, while Australia has historically relied on the United Kingdom as the basis for its statutes and caselaw, this link has loosened, causing Australians to look beyond the UK for ideas on how to structure laws and handle legal cases. For example, Moyra mentions that there is little or no British precedent in legislation or caselaw on the issue of gambling. Thus, Australian researchers are looking to U.S. state and Southeast Asian legal materials for points of reference on these matters. Moyra also observes that many Australians are researching the implications of the recent Free Trade Agreement signed by the U.S. and Australia. Her clients want to know how similar Agreements were handled with other countries, and the potential ramifications for Australia's culture, economy and legal practices. 

When looking for information in foreign and international legal materials, Moyra uses a variety of methods, including LexisNexis and pertinent websites, such as HierosGamos (www.hg.org); LLRX® Foreign Legal Research (www.llrx.com); and, WorldLII (www.worldlii.org). Like her librarian colleagues around the world, Moyra's ListServe contacts are a great support in searching for international materials. In addition, Australia's strong multicultural population proves to be a valuable asset when conducting foreign and international research. Moyra taps into lawyers and other staff members in her firm who come from non-English speaking backgrounds to help with translations, and to evaluate the usefulness of a foreign website. These individuals can also help in providing explanations of unfamiliar government and court structures. 

When people from other countries are seeking information from Australia, Moyra cites several sources that she believes provide excellent starting points. One of the first websites to provide comprehensive coverage of Australian legal information was AustLII (www.austlii.edu.au). This website has proven to be so successful that additional sites have been developed for materials from the UK and Canada. According to Moyra, one of the best annotated sources for Australian legal information is a series of guides written by Nicholas Pengelley for LLRX. These materials can be accessed at http://www.llrx.com/comparative_and_foreign_law.html#Australia.

While the term "globalization" is a new one for many, Moyra believes that the librarian community has always been "global" in nature. She comments, "Published information has always been without boundaries...(and has) come from many sources and in many languages. What has changed is the technology to enable us to communicate more easily with our peers in other countries." And, what works for Moyra professionally also works for her personally - her love of traveling has made her a global traveler, with her most recent trip to Egypt, Tunisia, and Cyprus. 

Moyra, like many librarians, has a penchant for problem-solving and fosters this by reading detective novels and mysteries. But, one of her greatest pleasures is meeting the people with whom she works and shares information each day from desktops around the world. If you'd like to 'visit' Moyra and you aren't able to travel to Australia, you can contact her at moyra.mcallister@bdw.com. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that you are presented with an opportunity to meet her in person in her beautiful country.

If you didn't get a chance to meet last month's international librarian, you can access our interview with Lyonette Louis-Jacques at the University of Chicago's D'Angelo Law Library in the USA here.

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