Syracuse Sun

The Association of Law Libraries of Upstate New York (ALLUNY) marked its 70th anniversary this year, with Jessica Petitto, a technical services librarian at the University’s Law Library, leading the celebrations. Petitto has been a long-time member of ALLUNY and served as president from May 2023 through October 2024.

Since its inception in 1954, ALLUNY has united law library staff and enthusiasts from Upstate New York for professional development, networking, and social activities. The organization includes academic, court, and law firm librarians and is a chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). Unlike other chapters facing challenges in member engagement, ALLUNY has successfully maintained participation through strategic meeting initiatives.

On October 25th, ALLUNY hosted its annual meeting both in person at the College of Law and online. Approximately 70 attendees participated. “Offering the ALLUNY annual meeting as a hybrid event makes it more accessible for everyone,” said Petitto. She emphasized that while in-person interaction is valuable, hybrid meetings allow single practitioners who may be the only law librarian at their organization to participate without leaving their duties.

ALLUNY also strives to keep meetings financially accessible with registration fees set at $30 for members, $35 for nonmembers, and $15 for students. The association offers several grants and awards to help offset costs and encourages librarians and library students to attend its annual meetings to foster future professionals.

For the second consecutive year, the annual meeting focused on artificial intelligence (AI), with this year's theme being “Pioneering AI from Classrooms to Courtrooms.” Sessions included presentations on AI tools and applications by experts such as Ellyssa Valenti Kroski from the New York Law Institute and Nina Scholtz from Cornell Law School. AALL Executive Board Member Andre Davison was among the speakers.

Petitto remarked on AI's role: “AI is a tool that librarians are in a good position to help users–students, faculty and legal practitioners–make use of in an ethical way.” She highlighted the importance of keeping up with trends and making professional development both accessible and affordable.