8/6/98 Colleagues

I am pleased to announce--via this e-mail message--that we are one step closer to having our own "discussion" group. You will recall from my letter of June 1, 1998, that our Steering Committee approved my April '98 proposal to establish an e-mail forum for our Interest Group (in addition to our now paperless Newsletter on our website at Cornell).

I am in the process of enlisting my school's help with establishing a listserv like the popular INTLAW_ discussion group among international legal librarians. In the interim, however, I do not want to loose any more time awaiting a determination of priorities which is out of my control. Per the above letter to_ you, I am thus instituting this no-added-cost (euphemism for "cheap") method of finally establishing communications on a more frequent basis than via our two or three Newsletters per year.

I propose that we begin by exchanging ONLY information about meetings, publications, or other NON-substantive matters. Our exchanges would thus be most like the INTLAW forum for international law librarians--which discourages substantive exchanges like those in the popular LAWPROF listserv. For those of you who are hungry for a "substantive" exchange, the ABA's International Section has SIXTEEN such e-mail discussion groups arranged by international law subtopics (an example of the type of info which we could be exchanging via e-mail, once this project is "up and running")._

I encourage you to think about my proposed limitation, at least at the outset, because I have seen many such undertakings at the undertakers, because of too many e-mail messages pushing political and other personal agendas. I believe that our agenda--at least for now--should be limited to a more "procedural" than substantive exchange. Anyone who disagrees with me is, of course, free to do what I didset up your own group, for those who are like-minded, by obtaining the e-mail addresses from the ASIL as I did (see also, Membership Directory).

There are now 77 of us in this e-mail group, which I will administer from the above e-mail address. Should you send me any response, be sure to INCLUDE MY OTHER ADDRESS <bills@tjsl.edu> so that I can begin to archive group messages at my office computer.

You should now send me any thoughts you might have about how to operate/limit this e-list. Once I get your input, then I can decide what to do with it, e.g., sharing it via a summary with all members. For example, we might begin by exchanging references to a favorite book, website, etc., which has some relevance to the work of the UN Decade. (The relevance standard would be rather broad.)

Note that we are not "underway" yet. After I get responses to this message, if any, I will later send you our membership's e-mail addresses for your computer e-mail system's Address Book.

I will soon send a print copy_ of this e-mail message, by s-mail, to every member of the UN Decade Interest Group--to ensure I get the word out to as many members of our group as possible. That will also enable me to get the e-mail addresses of other members who wish to participate in this project.

In the meantime, if you do NOT want to be a part of this project (you don't have to do anything except receive some e-mail messages), please send an e-mail to me at BOTH of my e-mail addresses<slomansonb@worldnet.att.net> & <bills@tjsl.edu>. ALL e-mails to me, and future e-mails to the entire group, should include BOTH of these addresses, so that I can administer and also archive messages. If I do not hear from you, then I will be sending your e-mail address to all members of the UN Decade Group (who already have access via the ASIL's Membership Directory where you may have listed your e-mail address).

Any suggestions will, of course, be appreciated. My role is not to govern, but to serve. Remember, you will now be exchanging any info you choose to submit with ONLY me, until I get this project fully operational--hopefully within several weeks, if not sooner. I do want to give members time to react to the letter which I'll be sending (print copy of this e-mail). They can then decide whether they would prefer to remain in the Dark Ages and not participate, or join up to see where this e-mail project leads us!

FYI--and as previously announced in our Newsletter--those of us who attended the April 1998 American society of International Law Annual Meeting's United Nations Decade Business Meeting (what a mouthful) decided to continue the work of this group after the end of the UN Decade. We will then be named "UN 21," referring to the 21st Century.

Your Chair & Editor,

William R. Slomanson

Thomas Jefferson School of Law