The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) has awarded former Culver City Mayor and Councilperson Sandra Levin, executive director of the LA Law Library in Los Angeles, the Robert L. Oakley Advocacy Award this year.
Established in 2008, the award recognizes the outstanding efforts of an AALL member, or group, who has contributed significantly to AALL’s policy agenda at the federal, state, local, or international level.
The award honors the memory of Robert L. Oakley, AALL's Washington affairs representative from 1989 to 2007.
Levin was nominated for her effort on behalf of California county law libraries to secure solid, sustained funding through the passage of California SB 711 (Chapter 318).
Funding for county law libraries in California is in a critical state, due to a dramatic decline in revenue from civil filing fees, the libraries’ primary source of funding. The new law allows the state’s county law libraries to impose charges for the electronic delivery of services and select additional library services and adds county public libraries to the state library’s list of public libraries, allowing county law libraries to receive grant funds.
“I am honored to have been chosen as this year's Robert L. Oakley Advocacy Award winner," Levin said. "Advocacy is critical to increasing awareness of the important role law libraries play in expanding access to justice, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with AALL in its continued efforts to promote law libraries and best practices in law librarianship.”
“Congratulations to Sandra Levin, who has been named this year’s Robert L. Oakley
Advocacy Award recipient,” AALL President Keith Ann Stiverson said. “Her successful advocacy for California county law libraries demonstrates her political savvy, her commitment to collaboration, and her passion for promoting public access to legal information.”
Levin was recognized at the 109th AALL Annual Meeting & Conference in
Chicago last week.
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