The IALL BULLETIN has become the International Journal of Law Libraries. Is this merely a change of names, or the final farewell to the long familiar white-and-blue publication which, for many years, has been the primary link between the members of the growing IALL family that it has helped create and shape?

Dr. Dahlmanns' invitation to Australian Law Librarians to tell the world about their activities in this issue of the International Journal of Law Libraries has been welcomed by the eight librarians to whom it was sent. Three of them, at least, have been happy to let me speak for them. The history of the Australian Law Librarians' Group is almost inextricably wound up with my personal history as a law librarian. While I apologise for being autobiographical this course of action is unavoidable if the true history of the A.L.L.G. is to be written.

The history of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (C.A.L.L.) has many parallels with the history of the International Association as set out by Dr. Dahlmanns in No. 28 of this Bulletin. The year 1960 seems to have been a turning point in law library development in Canada and the decade following it was a period of rapid and extensive growth both in the number of law libraries and in the size and scope of their collections. Before 1960 the possibility of a law library organization had been discussed, but in 1960 it became a reality. Under the guidance of Eunice Beeson, the newly appointed law librarian at the Dalhousie University Law School in Halifax, C.A.L.L. first came into being as a chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries. Eunice brought with her to Canada valuable experience in the American organization and she lost no time in getting the five or six widely scattered Canadian law librarians into touch with one another in a way in which they could work together on common projects and share similar concerns. She drafted the constitution of the organization, articulated ideas for co-operative ventures, and indicated practical ways of achieving what had to be done. Her death in the spring of 1966 was a great loss, but she had laid a firm foundation for the future development of the Association.

On February 20th, 1960, the Dutch Group of law libraries was founded through the initiative of Dr. L. E. van Holk of Leyden University. Prof. Dr. B. Landheer of the Peace Palace Library (who was the editor of the IALL BULLETIN from its very beginning, i.e. September 1960) became the first President.

In the spring of 1906 the librarian of the Iowa State Library wrote to a few of his colleagues suggesting that at the next meeting of the American Library Association they should join in establishing an organization of law librarians. Accordingly, in July of that year, they gathered at Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island, and organized the American Association of Law Libraries. The twenty-four original members were almost equally divided between States libraries, law school libraries, and local or county bar associations. These groups still form a large part of the membership, although government libraries and private firm collections are also strongly represented.

In the twenty years that the scholarship program has been in operation it has undergone many changes but has experienced a steady and meaningful development. It came into existence in 1953 when funds contributed by law book publishers made it possible for three young members to attend the first institute and annual meeting. In spite of the changes which have been made since then, the program has never lost sight of its initial purpose: “to give financial assistance to people who possess potential ability in law librarianship and who show promise of future usefulness and permanence in the profession.”