[Message from Alexia Loumankis, Reference & Research Librarian, Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto]

The CALL/ACBD Vendor Liaison Committee (VLC) acts as a liaison between CALL/ACBD’s members and legal information vendors by gathering input from the CALL/ACBD membership to advocate, recommend, and propose solutions to common issues that relate to vendor relationships and products.

While the committee meets throughout the year to work on these initiatives, its annual meeting, held around the time of the association’s AGM, is open to all CALL/ACBD members.

The VLC held this meeting on June 12 with over 50 CALL members in attendance. The meeting gave the VLC co-chairs a chance to outline the outcomes of their activities over the past year and set out their goals for the coming year.

The VLC co-chairs updated attendees as to their most recent meeting with Thomson Reuters representatives with regard to the transfer of loose-leafs from ProView to Westlaw Edge Canada.

Attendees were able to ask questions and share information in a collegial environment. The meeting also gave the opportunity to the co-chairs to drum up interest and volunteers for an upcoming webinar on negotiation and a subcommittee to create a “best practice” or standards document for the implementation of AI for legal applications.

CALL/ACBD members with questions or concerns are welcome to contact VLC co-chairs Alexia Loumankis and Annette Demers. The VLC will continue to update CALL/ACBD members on its activities through the In Session members bulletin and the new CALL Member Forum.