Dear Colleagues,
I just returned from IALL’s 43rd Annual Course, which was held in Houston, Texas (October 19–23, 2025). The event was a success on many fronts, ranging from the educational programs and law library tours to the optional day at Space Center Houston. Some of us also tried line dancing, although I’m hoping that this wasn’t memorialized in any way. Many thanks are in order to Monica Ortale and her team at the South Texas College of Law for an overall terrific experience.
Space Center Houston
Some 115 people attended the conference, including foreign visitors. I commend our foreign colleagues for traveling to the United States (US) during trying times in this country. I was happy to visit with our foreign attendees and assure them that many US citizens are not accepting the current administration’s policies and actions without a fight. Here in Illinois, for example, our governor has been pushing back against the federal government’s attempt to bring in uninvited National Guard troops and ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) personnel to pull people off the streets, from their homes, and even from workplaces. Attending international conferences is an important way for Americans to debunk the “America First” mentality.
Texas Statutes
I’m really pleased to present the journal’s content in this issue. From Nigeria, Oludayo John Bamgbose, Oridamilola A. Ijwoye, Juliet Abah, and Samson Adeniran discuss the “Challenges Confronting the Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in Nigeria.” In a fun piece, Professor Lynne Marie Kohm provides a brief foray into the legal content of Jane Austen’s novels in “Jane Austen, Law Professor, on Bar Prep: Four Stress-free Lessons on Estates in Land & Family Law.” In “Core Skills & ‘Cool Tools’ from the Third Generation of FCIL Librarians,” Meredith Capps, Clement Lin, Devan Orr, Alison A. Shea, Loren Turner, and Latia Ward offer an excellent piece on how the FCIL librarian’s “cool tools” have evolved across three generations. I initially approached Loren Turner at the 2024 AALL conference in Chicago about writing this piece, and she and her co-authors came through in a big way.
Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library
From India, Professors Amit Upadhyay and Abhinav Mehrotra examine “Human Rights Protection in Europe and Russia: Addressing the Implications of Russian Expulsion Under the Statute of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights.” Bakht Munir, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Kansas School of Law, explores “Integrating Generative AI in Legal Pedagogy: A Case Study,” which includes an Appendix with the syllabus Professor Munir used for an AI course at the Kansas School of Law during the summer of 2025.
“Behind the Books” Editors Julie Wooldridge and Mike McArthur at Space Center Houston
As far as regular features, in the “Behind the Books” column, Mike McArthur and Julie Wooldridge profile Diana Koppang, Director of Research & Competitive Intelligence at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP. Amy Flick’s International Calendar will keep us abreast of library events and conferences across the globe. Many thanks also go out to our book reviewers Jacob Sayward, Jane O’Connell, and Emily Lindsey.
This issue marks the end of the IJLI’s relationship with Cambridge University Press. Starting with the Spring 2026 issue, our publisher will be De Gruyter Brill. Stay tuned for information on how IALL members can access the IJLI electronically.
