CALL and the law library community have experienced a great loss with the death of Gail Hartzell on October 21, 2013. Gail joined CALL in 2002 when she was hired as Acquisitions Librarian at the Valparaiso University Law School, and immediately became active on committees, continuing to volunteer after she retired in 2012. To quote one committee chair, “Gail has been the first to volunteer. When she was handling the task, there is no need to follow up with her. You know it will be handled.” Continue reading Memories of Gail Hartzell
All posts by CALL Admin
Law School v. Library School
As soon as I began my Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science, I could not help but start comparing my recent library school experience to my previous law school experience. Initially I struggled between thinking like a lawyer and thinking like a librarian.
Law schools pride themselves on teaching their students through the Socratic method and developing legally trained minds. On the other hand, while library school does offer a practical approach, it does so through a more theoretical way of calling upon student group discussion in developing an idea. Continue reading Law School v. Library School
New CALL Member Q&A with Michael Verderame
New CALL member Michael Verderame is a graduate student in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and a member of the CALL Bulletin Committee. Co-editors Lyo and Kevin recently chatted with him so we could all get to know him a little better. Continue reading New CALL Member Q&A with Michael Verderame
Kip Kolkmeier: Advocate for Illinois Libraries
Those of us who attended the November CALL business meeting were given a treat when our featured speaker, Kip Kolkmeier, provided a rundown on the situation in Springfield. Kip summarized the many issues facing the legislature – not only the usual budget woes and redistricting fights, but the enormous unfunded pension obligation that looms over the state right now. Kip managed to tell us the sad tale while making it extremely interesting and entertaining. Continue reading Kip Kolkmeier: Advocate for Illinois Libraries
RDA Cataloging Cooperative
Held in conjunction with the 2013 AALL Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, the RDA Cataloging Cooperative workshop brought together a panel of RDA frontrunners to address a range of questions pertaining to RDA and RDA within the law cataloging community.
The full day workshop, organized through eight questions and two hot topics (yes, there are hot topics in cataloging!) included: Continue reading RDA Cataloging Cooperative
The Cook County Law Library: 50 Years of Service
I had the pleasure of attending the Cook County Law Library’s re-dedication event on September 26, and I am writing to you about this great public library in the hope that all of us can support it and perhaps help ensure its services for at least another fifty years.
The Cook County Law Library is our region’s greatest public collection of historical and current legal resources. Although the Law Library was dedicated in 1963, its collection really began when the Chicago Law Institute was incorporated in 1857. The population of Cook County was less than 50,000 at that time, but the community was growing rapidly and so was the need for legal services. Continue reading The Cook County Law Library: 50 Years of Service
Cook County Law Library Marks a Milestone
The Cook County Law Library has provided public access to legal information and research services to the members of the local community since its establishment in 1963. On September 26, the Cook County Law Library celebrated 50 years of service to the legal profession and larger community and rededicated the Law Library to another 50 years of public service.
We were honored to have Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Keith Ann Stiverson, Director of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law Library, address our distinguished guests in a ceremony in the Daley Center Foyer. Following the ceremony, the Law Library welcomed guests to an open house on the 29th Floor.
We wish to acknowledge the law library and legal community who we have been privileged to serve for half a century. We look forward to continuing to offer authoritative legal resources and a skilled, service-oriented staff to all. We are grateful for your enduring support.
Federal Depository Library Program still matters, still needs voices of libraries
The post below, reprinted from Kevin McClure’s blog, GovDocsGuy, is a challenge to library directors, so I want to highlight the post again in case you didn’t see it and take a moment to add a prequel that provides one director’s perspective. Now that I have given some thought to the matter, it occurs to me that I have never worked in a library that wasn’t a federal depository. Why does a depository matter now, in a world that shuns print?
I can tell you why I think it matters. The law libraries in the depository program have managed to keep the United States Code and some other important legal titles in print. We are the ones who took to heart the user’s need to be certain that an online document is authentic and unaltered. Continue reading Federal Depository Library Program still matters, still needs voices of libraries
Resolution on the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act
Endorsed by the AALL Executive Board, November 1, 2013
WHEREAS, the American Association of Law Libraries believes that permanent public access to official, authentic legal information is critical to the legal system of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the American Association of Law Libraries holds that information published on government websites must be trustworthy and reliable; and Continue reading Resolution on the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act
AALL Election News: Congratulations to Keith Ann Stiverson
Congratulations to CALL member Keith Ann Stiverson on her election to the AALL Executive Board!
Keith serves as the Director of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law Library and has been very active in both CALL and AALL over the years. She recently served on the Task Force on the Federal Depository Library Program and the Government Policy Advisory Group, and as AALL observer to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (now Uniform Law Commission) Drafting Committee on the Uniform Electric Legal Material Act. We are all so grateful for Keith’s efforts to help get UELMA passed.
Keith’s term as AALL President will conclude with the 2016 AALL Annual Meeting right here in Chicago. Congratulations, Keith!