The appearance of this issue of the International Journal of Legal Information coincides almost exactly with the 40th anniversary of the founding of the International Association of Law Libraries. In June, 1959, a group of law librarians with long established personal interests in international law librarianship met in New York, with the goal of establishing an organization that would facilitate their work and bring law librarians around the world in closer contact. Professor William R. Roalfe of Northwestern University Law School in Chicago was elected the first President of the new Association, and Mr. K. Howard Drake of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London, the Vice President. A report summarizing the organizational meeting was prepared by Adolf Sprudzs of the University of Chicago Law Library, who subsequently devoted much of his career to international law librarianship and particularly to the work of the Association, including serving two terms as its President (see appendix). For a recent history of the Association, please see the article by Mr. Sprudzs in The Law Librarian, volume 26 at page 321, 1995.