All posts by Philip Johnson

CALL Bulletin Coming Soon to a Database Near You . . .

It has taken nearly two years, but we are proud to announce that in late February the archive of the CALL Bulletin will be available on HeinOnline’s Law Library Shelf. The unveiling of the collection was timed to coincide with CALL’s 70th Anniversary. The archive dates back to 1952, and moving forward every new issue of the Bulletin will be added to the archive. Now, all of CALL’s good work will be show-cased to a wider audience.  Unfortunately, we are still missing the first eight issues of the Bulletin. If you happen to have copies, or suggestions for locating the missing copies, please contact Annie Mentkowski, CALL Historian, via email (annie.mentkowsi@rrb.gov).

Should you need another access point to the archive, the Hein project has not replaced the other CALL Bulletin archives. Digitized issued dating back to issue no. 178 (Fall 2000) will still be available on the CALL website.  And, the original print copies of the entire archive are housed at the David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library at Northern Illinois University. If you have any questions regarding the CALL archive please contact the Archives Committee co-chairs, Clanitra Nejdl (cstewart5@niu.edu) or Pat Sayre-McCoy (psm1@chicago.edu).

We would like to send a big thank you to HeinOnline for all of their hard work in digitizing and preserving the CALL Bulletin. And, a special thank you to Lyo Louis-Jacques, who spearheaded this excellent initiative.

Switching Library Settings Recap

On Wednesday, January 25, CALL’s Mentorship and Continuing Education Committees jointly hosted a lunchtime event at Jenner & Block LLP entitled “Switching Library Settings.”  Moderated by Ben Brighoff, the event featured a panel of CALL members, including Annie Mentkowski, Valerie Carullo, JoAnn Hounshell, and Katie Leonard.  Each of the panelists shared their experiences and advice on transitioning from one law library setting to another, whether it be from academia to government, academia to legal information vendor, academia to law firm, or law firm to legal information vendor.  Although each of the panelists shared unique insights, a common sentiment expressed by each was the value, when considering a move, of networking and being involved with professional organizations.  Including the panelists, 26 CALL members attended the event, including several members new to our organization and the law library profession.

Advocacy Update with AALL’s Emily Feltren

The CALL Government Relations Committee is happy to announce that we will be sponsoring an appearance in Chicago by Emily Feltren, the Director of the AALL Government Relations Office. Emily will be here on Thursday, April 6, to give Chicago’s law librarian community the opportunity to hear about AALL’s policy priorities for 2017, what effect the 115th Congress and the Trump administration will have on those priorities, and what CALL members can do to be advocates for issues of importance to librarians. Details on the event and a link to register to attend the event (via Wild Apricot) are provided below. We hope to see you there!

Where:  Denton’s, 233 South Wacker Drive, #5900
When:  Thursday, April 6. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., Emily will speak from Noon to 1:00 p.m.

Sign up at:  https://caoll.wildapricot.org/event-2468219 (Registration will be open until April 5)
Cost:  $5 (paid in advance via Wild Apricot or collected at the door)

Feel free to bring your own lunch. Beverages will be provided.

President’s Letter

Dear CALL colleagues,

One of the most commonly observed phenomena about professional work in the 21st century is the increasing specialization of different jobs, and that is certainly something we have seen in our law librarian community, even within individual law libraries and organizations. However, despite this increasing specialization, there are still things we share that bind us together as law librarians. One of the challenges of the recent AALL rebranding effort was identifying those traits that define all of our work and figuring out how to communicate our value to others outside the profession. AALL’s new tagline, “Your Legal Knowledge Network,” manages to capture a lot in four simple words, and it applies just as well to AALL chapters like CALL as it does to the national organization. Continue reading President’s Letter

From the Editors

It’s difficult to believe that fall lasts until December 21 when we’ve already experienced sub-zero temperatures here in Chicago, but here we are. Perhaps this issue of the CALL Bulletin will be a pleasant reminder of warmer times.

In fact, this issue comprises our final recap of the AALL proceedings this summer with two grantee reports from Heidi Kuehl and Matthew Timko, a recap of Cool Tools Café from Debbie Ginsberg, and an item on the award of Legislator of the Year to U.S. representative Mike Quigley at the beginning of August. Continue reading From the Editors

CALL Executive Board Meeting Minutes – September 2016

Complete, up-to-date CALL Board meeting minutes are available on the CALL website.

AALL Headquarters, 105 W. Adams St., Suite 3300 (enter on Clark St.)

  • September 13, 2016, 9:00 a.m.

Board Members Present

  • Todd Ito
  • Clare Willis
  • Julie Pabarja
  • Konya Lafferty Moss
  • Tom Gaylord
  • Lindsey Carpino
  • Diana Koppang

Continue reading CALL Executive Board Meeting Minutes – September 2016

CALL Executive Board Meeting Minutes – October 2016

Complete, up-to-date CALL Board meeting minutes are available on the CALL website.

AALL Headquarters, 105 W. Adams St., Suite 3300 (enter on Clark St.)

  • October 11, 2016, 9:00 a.m.

Board Members Present

  • Todd Ito
  • Clare Willis
  • Julie Pabarja
  • Konya Lafferty Moss
  • Tom Gaylord
  • Lindsey Carpino
  • Diana Koppang

Continue reading CALL Executive Board Meeting Minutes – October 2016

September 2016 Business Meeting Round-Up

CALL held its first business meeting of the 2016-2017 year at Nacional 27, 325 West Huron Street, on September 15, 2016. There were 81 registered attendees. President Todd Ito called the meeting to order at noon and welcomed new CALL members:

  • Tom Duggan (Thomson Reuters)
  • Elaine Knecht (Barclay Damon, LLP)
  • Jennifer Koertge (Brinks Gilson & Lione)
  • Martin Korn (Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP)
  • Ariana Lim (Professionals Library Service)
  • David Sanborne (Cook County Law Library)

AALL past-president Keith Ann Stiverson thanked everyone for the best Annual Meeting ever! Through luck and her efforts, she hopes to bring the meeting back to Chicago sooner than later! Continue reading September 2016 Business Meeting Round-Up

Transitions: A Life’s Journey

If there is one constant in life, it is change. We change daily,
starting with daily physiological changes (nails grow, hair grows, cells generate and die off) to personal changes (changes in relationships, changes in where we live) to changes that effect many people (political changes, economic changes). We also change professionally. We call these changes transitions. Dictionary.com defines transition as “movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change.” This definition implies a discrete time of transition. The transition has a beginning, a middle, and an end as we move from an “as is” condition to a “to be” condition. Continue reading Transitions: A Life’s Journey