The Chicago Association of Law Libraries held its September 2025 Business Meeting on September 18, 2025, at Maggiano’s, 516 N. Clark St., Chicago.
President Jill Meyer opened the meeting.
President Jill Meyer provided a brief update on the new website. She noted the Board had expected the website to be ready at end of 2024 but ran into some snags. She noted the Board is now looking for someone to finish the final elements. If anyone knows a WordPress developer, please let Jill know. The Board is also pursuing some possible leads and hopes to have the new site operational soon.
The sponsor for the meeting was vLex. Rod Mazure addressed the members on behalf of vLex, thanking CALL for the opportunity to sponsor the meeting. He informed our members that vLex will be acquired by Clio in a few weeks. He is excited to pair up with that company and the synergies it will bring to vLex. vLex is an international law publisher with content 17 countries and is searchable in Vincent (genAI tool). vLex also has the tool, Docket Alarm. Rod noted that Docket Alarm has coverage at state level including Cook County.
Todd Hilmer thanked Eugene Giudice for finding another speaker for the Business Meeting after the initial speaker who he also arranged had to cancel.
Our speaker for the meeting was Monica Harris, Executive Director of RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System). In addition to leading RAILS, Monica is involved with several statewide and national organizations, including the Association of Illinois School Library Educators (AISLE), the Illinois Library Association (ILA), the Public Library Association (PLA), and the American Library Association (ALA), where she currently serves as Councilor at Large. She also serves as Executive Committee Treasurer for the Libraries of Illinois Risk Agency (LIRA).
RAILS is the largest of three multi-type library systems in Illinois. It serves 1250 member libraries with approximately 100 libraries across the city of Chicago. (Chicago Public Library has its own system.) RAILS is funded by the Illinois State Library through taxpayer funds.
RAILS’ mission is to connect libraries. Some of their key services include book delivery and training. RAILS delivers approximately 9 million items each year to allow libraries within RAILS to share resources. Library Learning, their training program, provides access to free live and archived recordings of trainings. Monica encouraged CALL members to sign up for an L2 account to gain access to all that RAILS has to offer.
Services in addition to training and delivery include world language cataloging, savings from key library vendors such as Brodart, Ingram, and Library Store, and updates on how we can advocate for libraries. Monica also shared news about the Illinois State Library E-Resources program that will allow access to EBSCO among other resources. (Illinois State Library E-Resource Program | Reaching Across Illinois Library System) Contact RAILS for more information on how you can get access for your library.
Monica shared updates on the background of IMLS and recent threats to library funding. $5.7 million in IMLS funding goes to Illinois libraries. Some grants like the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program are at risk of losing funding. Illinois Attorney General, Kwame Raoul, and 21 other states joined a lawsuit to protect the Institute of Museums and Library Services, State of Rhode Island et al. v. Trump.
In other areas of advocacy, Monica encouraged CALL members to attend the Illinois Legislative meet-ups on December 2 and December 3 and noted the recent passing in June 2024 of the Unite Against Book Bans in Illinois (P.A. 103-0100).
Lastly, Monica recommended we apply for the upcoming “My Library Is” grant through RAILS. Grants are for up to $5000 and there are five designated each year for special libraries. (Last year only 5 special libraries applied.)
Following the talk, the Business Meeting continued with a call for volunteering to work on a Committee. Any time you can give is a great help to CALL.
Next we received updates from committees.
Community Service: Volunteering opportunity at Liberation Library on November 23rd.
Continuing Education: Will host a technology roundtable on October 22 covering different technology issues librarians are facing. (SSO, genAI, PACER, etc.)
Government Relations: The committee is seeking topic ideas for a webinar or brown bag. Please let the committee know of issues you want to learn. The CALL Board approved language in support of IMLS. If you need a copy, please let Eugene Giudice know.
Membership: If you are changing your email address or name, please contact the Membership committee. The listserv and membership directory are two separate functions and both need to be updated. Please let the Membership Committee know of changes. Listserv issues are noted and we are working on this. If you notice an issue, please let the Membership Committee know.
Mentorship: Hosting a happy hour at The Green at 320 on October 9 from 5-7 pm at 320 S. Canal.
Door prize drawings were sponsored by Lexis and went to Kathleen Mance and Leslie Strauss.
President Jill Meyer adjourned the meeting.