Category Archives: Fall 2016

Issue 241

AALL Annual Meeting in the Windy City Doesn’t Disappoint: Overview of a Grant Recipient’s Adventures and Educational Experiences

I always look forward to the AALL Annual Meeting and informal gatherings each year because of the variety of activities, opportunities to connect with dear colleagues and friends from around the country/globe, and informative educational sessions. The meeting is also filled with business meetings of special interest sections, committees, and task forces, which provides an opportunity to serve our association in myriad ways. I was grateful for the CALL grant this year which facilitated my attendance and participation in the Annual Meeting programs and Special Interest Section meetings and allowed me to share ideas with other law librarians and law library directors. Continue reading AALL Annual Meeting in the Windy City Doesn’t Disappoint: Overview of a Grant Recipient’s Adventures and Educational Experiences

A First Timer’s AALL Grantee Report

At the time of the AALL conference in July, I was about two weeks from finally becoming a bona fide librarian, and I was excited to see what a national conference in my chosen profession would look like.  My experiences with CALL have been wonderful, specifically because the CALL community is so close knit and collaborative, and I wondered whether the national conference would be the inverse since the geographic regions represented were so vast. I quickly found my concerns could not have been less warranted. I met librarians from Tennessee, Massachusetts, Hawaii, California, Florida and elsewhere, and I was struck by how similar my interactions with them were to those with Chicago librarians. This was tremendously encouraging: as a new librarian, I am very happy to have chosen a field where there are so many supportive and friendly colleagues, not just locally, but nationally. This was my biggest, and most relieving, takeaway from the conference. Continue reading A First Timer’s AALL Grantee Report

Mandatory E-Filing

Mandatory e-filing began in DuPage County on January 1st of this year. Mandatory e-filing is required for all civil cases. DuPage County is the first county, and so far the only county, in the state to require mandatory e-filing for all civil matters. In order to accommodate patrons and attorneys who do not have scanning capabilities, the courthouse has four e-filing stations in the clerk’s office: one in the law library and one in the attorney resource center. This e-filling process has been a learning experience for all involved. The library staff, clerk’s office staff, and judges’ secretaries have all had basic training on e-filing. The questions we get the most from patrons and attorneys are: “Is it really mandatory?” and “Do I really have to e-file?” The answer is yes. For some of our tech savvy patrons and attorneys this was great. It meant they only had to actually come into the courthouse if they had to. For our not so tech savvy patrons and attorneys, it has been and continues to be a learning experience. Continue reading Mandatory E-Filing

Technologies Gone By . . . Not Really

It has been over five years since I took a retrospective look at the technologies covered in the TechBuzz so I thought it was a good time to see what has stood the test of time and what has disappeared or been replaced by something different. To my surprise more has stayed with us than I would have anticipated given the ever changing landscape of technology. Continue reading Technologies Gone By . . . Not Really

Nominees for CALL Executive Board 2017-2018

The election for officers and directors for CALL’s 2017-2018 year will be held from February 15 to March 15. More information will come to your email closer to the election date.  In the meantime, pictures and statements of the candidates may be found here (login required). Additional nominations may be submitted in accordance with Article IX, Section 3 of Association Bylaws by January 1, 2017.

Margaret Schilt, Chair
Nominations & Elections Committee

CALL 2016-2017 Chapter Awards

The Chicago Association of Law Libraries (CALL) grants the following awards each year in recognition of its members’ achievements:

  • The Agnes and Harvey Reid Award for Outstanding Contribution to Law Librarianship  (established in 1982) – presented annually at the May business meeting for outstanding service to the chapter during the previous year or for contribution to law librarianship.
  • Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Law Librarianship Award (established in 1993) – presented annually at the May business meeting for outstanding lifetime achievement in law librarianship.
  • Outstanding In-House Publication Award (established in 1993) – given to an individual or group who created in-house library materials (print or online) that are user and staff oriented, are relevant for law libraries, and are outstanding in quality.

Continue reading CALL 2016-2017 Chapter Awards