Skip to main content

Meet the ALLA (WA) Committee 2017-2018: Stephen Griffiths

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our events

Stephen Griffiths, ALLA (WA) Vice President 2017-2018

Jonesy, Stephen's cat, with a fidget spinner

Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career?

I’m a big fan of the public service librarians mentioned in the NSW library pay equity case ([2002] NSWIRComm 55) – their actions set a precedent that improved the lot of librarians across the country. And also James Procell, the library director of the Dwight Anderson Memorial Music Library in Rupa Marya v. Warner Chappell Music Inc who unearthed the Mildred and Patty Hill manuscript for “Good morning to all” (aka “Happy Birthday to You”) which helped the court determine that the iconic song was out of copyright and kicked Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia Pty Limited (No 2) [2010] FCA 698 up to its deserved spot of second-most ridiculous example of current copyright enforcement at large in the world today.

What is the proudest moment in your professional life?
Probably being part of the team overseeing the move of the Department of the Attorney General Library in Westralia Square to its new home at The Law Library, David Malcolm Justice Centre and its merger with the Law Library at the Supreme Court. Those collections merging and the combined resources being made available is a great step forward for the principle of equity of access to legal resources for the profession.

Career advice – what’s your top tip?
For aspiring librarians I always recommend that they volunteer early and volunteer often and keep active within their professional associations. If volunteering doesn’t directly lead to a job at least you are practicing and expanding your skillset and your network. 

What’s your favourite legal research tool?
As a public servant I’m sworn to neutrality in the great CCH|LexisNexis|ThomsonReuters War For All Our Money…
But Legify is free and faster than hitting up AustLII for authoritative legislation.
[By the way, what the heck is up with Google’s lack of a dedicated legislation search engine‽
They used to be cool!
At this rate Pintrest will have something more usable than Google!]

If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be?
A program of targeted weeding of local government library stock for legal texts that are out of date and dangerous for use by unwary self-representing litigants/litigants-in-person – those texts are the other asbestos of the public library industry and something needs to be done about them.

Library cliché: What is your favourite book? (Or one of your favourite books?)
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut.

If you were reincarnated as an animal, what would it be?
Those honey badgers seem to have the right attitude, unfortunately I’m pretty sure I’ll have to give greater…care to get my karmic balance to that point.

Why did you join the ALLA (WA) Committee?
I vaguely recall being plied with liquor and delicious cheese served on crackers with the promise of more of the same…also to work on events and projects that benefit the legal information services profession.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Keeping Up With ALLA (WA) News

In March 2023 we announced the  closure of the Allgwa list , and welcomed the arrival of the  ALLA (WA) Google Group .  To take full advantage of the Google Group - particularly the ability to deliver news directly to your inbox - the ALLA (WA) Committee has made the decision to cease posting to the ALLA (WA) Blog.  ALLA (WA) Members are encouraged to join the Google Group to make sure they don’t miss out on key news, events, job opportunities from the committee and our members.  Over the past twelve and a half years we've have over 208636 visitors (and still counting) to the ALLA (WA) Blog, from all over the world. We thank all of our readers who have supported the blog. We especially thank all of our blog editors and contributors who have volunteered their time, skill and knowledge to develop this resource. The ALLA (WA) Blog will continue to be available in an archive format. We look forward to using the ALLA (WA) Google Group to share information, foster collegiali

ALLA National Board - Nominations Open

ALLA members would have received an email from Emma Joneshart, President of ALLA Ltd regarding a call for nominations for members to join the ALLA Ltd Board of Directors. Nominations will be voted upon at the ALLA AGM, held on Thursday 23 September during the ALLA Virtual Conference 2021 . The ALLA Ltd Board of Directors is an important part of the Australian Law Librarians' Association's governance. Made up of at least eight members of ALLA, nominations are open for the following positions:  Vice President Secretary Treasurer Vendor Relations CPD Coordinator General Directors The Vice President position is for a term of 3 years, consisting of a year each as Vice President, President and Past President. The other positions are for a 2-year term, allowing for a sufficient time period to become familiar with the role and have meaningful impact on ALLA projects.  Each role is varied, with support from other members of the Board, and in addition to monthly meetings (mainly via tel

Job Opportunities : Seeking a Shelf Change 2023 (5)

Senior Librarian Squire Patton Boggs has advertised for a part-time  (0.8 FTE) role of Senior Librarian in their Perth office. Details can be found on the Squire Patton Boggs website .  As an aside, we wish Kelly the best in her new endeavours and thank her for all her contributions to ALLA (WA) over the years.  Library Officer Corrective Serives, Department of Justice have advertised for a full-time Library Officer role located at Hakea Prison. Details can be found on the Jobs WA website . Applications close 24 April 2023. Library Assistant The Parliamentary Library, Department of Library Services has advertised for a full-time Library Assistant located in Canberra. Details can be found on the APS Jobs website . Applications close 17 April 2023. Archival Officer The National Archives of Australia are advertising for a full-time Archival Officer based in Perth. Details can be found on the  APS Jobs website . Applications close 16 April 2023. Still Open Positions Previously Published on