All posts by Juanita Harrell

Attending ALA

Hello, fellow librarians. I know many of you just attended AALL this past July. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend; however, I was able to attend ALA—the American Library Association conference this past June. It was in Chicago at McCormick Place.

The best part about ALA is if you do not want to attend the entire conference, you can get an exhibit hall pass. The exhibit hall pass cost $75.00 dollars this year, but there was also an opportunity to get a free pass through RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System). The exhibit hall is both amazing and overwhelming. Those of you who have attended before can attest to this. There are authors, illustrators, vendors, presentations, and programs all happening at the same time. Continue reading Attending ALA

A Visit to the United States Capitol

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. for a little visit. While there I was able to visit/make my pilgrimage to the Library of Congress and the United States Supreme Court. Two law librarian accomplishments checked off of my bucket list. I was able to visit the Jefferson building of the Library of Congress. The first thing I noticed upon entering the building was the architecture and all of the art on the ceilings. You could have spent most of your time looking up before you ever got a chance to check out the actual exhibits and books.

One of the first things I noticed was the Gutenberg Bible. The librarian in me is always fascinated by old books, particularly this one, since it was the first to be printed using the Gutenberg press. When I looked down I immediately noticed that all of the zodiac signs were on the floor of the Great Hall. There was an exhibit of Thomas Jefferson’s library. The books from Jefferson’s library  were used as the foundation for the Library of Congress. There was also a replica of the oval office as it was when Thomas Jefferson was president.   Continue reading A Visit to the United States Capitol