In the last decade there has been an enormous growth in the literature concerning the law of the sea. This expansion in academic activity parallels the growth in the functional uses of the oceans and the interest in the oceans currently displayed by the nations of the world.

Law librarians whose work requires them to obtain and stock materials on the Pacific islands face some problems which seem worthy of special comment. These problems are essentially of two kinds—

• problems which are inherent in the nature of Pacific islands legal systems; and

• problems involved in obtaining relevant information.

The acquisition of foreign legal materials always presents something of a problem to law librarians in the United States. Conventional bibliographic tools seldom contain the necessary information, local dealers are often reluctant to handle the orders, and appropriate foreign dealers are frequently difficult to identify.

Adolf Sprudzs, Foreign Law Librarian and Lecturer in Legal Bibliography, came to the University of Chicago in August 1965. At that time the Law School Library had initiated a development program which aimed at the in-depth acquisition of legal materials for the European Economic Community countries and some other selected areas of the world. The appointment of Mr. Sprudzs was an essential step in the successful implementation of this program. The Law School already possessed a particularly rich collection of French and German legal publications, inter alia, and a faculty that included several European-trained law professors. The most influential of these was Max Rheinstein, who was instrumental in the growth of the foreign and comparative law program at the University of Chicago. The partnership of Professor Rheinstein and Mr. Sprudzs combined their great knowledge, interests and talents. Mr. Sprudzs’ ability to inspire faculty support led to the development of a comprehensive retrospective and current foreign and international law collection within the guidelines of the program. However, the real challenge to Adolf Sprudzs’ resourcefulness began in the early 1970's. As grant money became scarce, prices and the volume of legal publishing began a steady increase and the value of the dollar declined. Mr. Sprudzs was realistic in his assessment of the possible support of the collection and focused the scope of the collection in the areas that were of long-term research interest at the University of Chicago. He worked hard to increase European alumni support and to maintain the friendship that the foreign law graduates feel for the University of Chicago. His close contacts with these alumni, as well as with other librarians and law teachers in Europe, have often enabled the Law Library to acquire materials and obtain grants that would otherwise have been unavailable.

Adolf Sprudzs, Associate Editor of the International Journal of Legal Information (formerly International Journal of Law Libraries), has a few months ago (on September 19, 1982) celebrated his sixtieth birthday.

By common consensus of the Editor-in-Chief and the other Associate Editors this issue of the Journal is dedicated to him as a token of gratitude and appreciation for his incessant efforts to improve and enlarge The International Bookshelf of which he has been the dedicated section editor, as well as in recognition of his achievements in the field of national and international law librarianship.

The primary task of this Section of the IJLL is to alert the readers either to comparative legislative developments in a particular subject area or to highlight a single major piece of legislation which is likely to have an impact or influence on other than a national forum. It will also attempt to survey international acts and documents affecting the relations within the community of nations as well as the legislative programs and policy of the states involved.