Just last year I had the privilege of highlighting my father’s career for his 50th anniversary with William S. Hein & Co. This year, I am honored to announce that my father, and Hein’s CEO, Kevin Marmion, will be inducted into the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) Hall of Fame during the 2021 virtual conference. Kevin is known for his hard work and dedication, as he quite literally worked his way from the bottom of the organization to the top. Let’s take a closer look at his accomplishments and service to AALL and the library community.
About the AALL Hall of Fame Award
The Hall of Fame Award was established in 2009 to recognize AALL members who have made significant, substantial, and long-standing contributions to the profession of legal information management—such as writing for legal publications, serving in AALL leadership roles, working with outside organizations on behalf of the profession, or serving as an exceptional role model for their colleagues. Inductees have been AALL members for a minimum of 25 years and have contributed significant service to the legal information profession in association leadership positions.
Kevin has contributed a great deal of time and energy in service to the Association. This has been done by sponsoring activities and events during the AALL Annual Meeting, providing publishing support (including the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals), and hosting the Spinelli Law Library Reference Shelf.
Kevin will be joining two other Hein colleagues, William S. Hein, Jr. and Dick Spinelli as the only non-librarians in AALL history to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Kevin’s Career Accomplishments
Kevin graduated from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY in 1975 with his bachelor’s degree in Business. Over a 50-year span, he worked his way up at William S. Hein & Co., starting off as warehouse staff to his current position as Chief Executive Officer. Here is a breakdown of all his positions at the Hein Company:
- Periodical Department, 1975–83
- Office Manager, 1983–86
- Vice-President, 1986–96
- President, 1996–2018
- Chief Executive Officer, 2018–present
As Executive Vice President Shannon Hein said in his nomination letter, “I could write for days but Kevin’s contribution to the association members is beyond measure.” Throughout his time with the company, Kevin has always listened to the ever-changing needs of the library community and advocated for putting the customer first, an important piece of Hein’s mission statement. He found a more cost-effective way to produce fiche that would hold more content, aiding librarians’ budgets and over-flowing shelves. Kevin also helped develop a computerized subscription service, written specifically for law librarians, allowing for easy access to new material for librarians around the nation. When librarians expressed their concern about government documents becoming brittle and damaged over time, he suggested the company switch to acid-free paper, a practice the U.S. government followed shortly after. What’s more, Kevin was able to convince Morris L. Cohen to complete and publish the Bibliography of Early American Law, one of the greatest bibliographies to be used by law librarians and the legal community.
I know that he personally searches library catalogs looking for nuggets that may be getting dusty in the stacks and he gives them new life by digitizing them and making them available to the broader legal community.
One of his biggest accomplishments, however, was the invention of HeinOnline. This database began with merely 25 journals, but now holds nearly 3,000 journals and more than 100 databases across 194 million pages of content, serving a wide array of people including lawyers, judges, legal scholars, and students.
From some of my earliest memories as a child, I can recall my father repeating to me “Treat others as you would want to be treated.” This statement alone embodies my father’s values and character. I firmly believe that is why he has made lifelong friends within the library community. This principle, instilled in him from my grandmother, Margaret (Peggy) Marmion, is what inspired him to play an integral part in creating and disseminating important information free of charge through HeinOnline’s Social Justice Suite and the Women and the Law database.
… he cares about people, listens to them and has worked to improve the lives of the librarians and libraries who were his customers, all while proving repeatedly that he is just a nice guy.
Anyone who knows my father knows he can talk, and some will even say he enjoys hearing himself talk. Growing up with six sisters and one brother, he had to learn to be loud. But with that being said, he is as humble as they come. No matter what he has accomplished in life, he continues to credit his success to the people he has surrounding him: family, colleagues, and the library community.
Professional Honors & Awards Received During Kevin’s Leadership
- AALL New Product Award, 2001 (for HeinOnline)
- AALL Presidential Certificate of Appreciation, 2014 (for providing access to AALL publications to members through HeinOnline, and for long-term support of the profession, development of quality legal research products, and commitment to customer service)
- AALL New Product Award, 2014 (for HeinOnline/Fastcase Integration)
- AALL Hall of Fame, Inductee, 2021
Check out this interview conducted by Patrick Kehoe with Kevin, William S. Hein, and Daniel Rosati on the evolution of HeinOnline.
Congratulations
I think I speak for everyone when I say congratulations, Dad. Your hard work, dedication to our customers, and ability to think outside the box, has proven to have had a long-lasting effect on librarians—for years past and for many years to come. You certainly deserve this award, and we’re so proud to share this moment with you.
