Library Director Jean Wenger Joins the International Association of Law Libraries Board of Directors
Jean M. Wenger, director of the law library and senior lecturer at Chicago-Kent College of Law, has been elected as a member of the executive board of the International Association of Law Libraries. Her term, which runs from 2019 to 2022, begins in November at the IALL’s 38th annual course in Sydney.
“Jean will be lending the board the same administrative élan and sensibility that she offers to our faculty and students on a weekly basis,” says Chicago-Kent Dean Harold Krent.
As a board member, Wenger’s responsibilities will be to attend IALL conferences and serve on committees as directed.
“Law librarians seek to improve legal information literacy for students, academics, attorneys, and the public, and to ensure that legal information is accessible by all. I am thrilled by the opportunity to work with the IALL board to support the education and work of international colleagues,” says Wenger. She has been actively teaching and writing about foreign, comparative, and international law research for 25 years.
Active in association leadership, she has conducted strategic planning, managed educational initiatives, and worked for access to and preservation of legal information. Her previous professional service credentials include serving as president of the American Association of Law Libraries; chair of the Foreign, Comparative and International Law Section of the American Association of Law Libraries; president of the Chicago Association of Law Libraries; and chair of the board of directors of the Legal Information Preservation Alliance. She is currently a member of the LLMC Digital advisory council.
Before becoming director of the Chicago-Kent law library in 2018, Wenger spent 29 years at the Cook County Law Library in Chicago, most recently as deputy law librarian. Wenger also spent several years in academic law libraries, first at the University of Illinois College of Law and later at Cornell University Law School.
Wenger earned her J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, her master’s degree in library and information science from Dominican University, and her bachelor of arts degree in public administration and economics from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. She is a member of the State Bar of Illinois.
Founded in 1959, IALL has more than 400 members in more than 50 countries on five continents, and promotes the law library profession and access to legal information. IALL provides an international forum for networking and information sharing among legal information professionals worldwide and supports their professional development.
