Category Archives: 2015 Issues

Winter 2015

International Law Researchers Gather in Chicago

World Globe (with flags)The American Society of International Law (ASIL) held its 2014 Midyear Meeting and Research Forum in Chicago on November 6-8 at three venues: John Marshall Law School, Baker & McKenzie LLP, and Northwestern University School of Law. ASIL has “nearly 4,000 members from more than 100 nations include attorneys, academics, corporate counsel, judges, representatives of governments and nongovernmental organizations, international civil servants, students, and others interested in international law”. The Midyear Meeting was very representative, involving participants from the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, and the UK.

Continue reading International Law Researchers Gather in Chicago →

Winter 2015

What’s Rotten About Legal Scholarship, and How to Cure It: A Georgetown Symposium

When Supreme Court justices cite Internet sources in their opinions, how do they ensure the integrity of those sources for future legal scholars? The answer, unfortunately, is not very well, as illustrated by this dose of digital schadenfreude visited upon Justice Alito.

404This was the central problem explored by a one-day conference at Georgetown University on October 24, “404/File Not Found: Link Rot, Legal Citation and Projects to Preserve Precedent.”

Over six sessions, the program identified and addressed the risks of citing to ephemeral online sources in court opinions and legal scholarship, frequently highlighting a key distinction between “link rot,” or the disappearance of a cited link, and “reference rot,” which occurs when the cited reference is no longer the same as it was when the author cited it. Archived recordings of each of the day’s sessions are available at the conference website. Continue reading What’s Rotten About Legal Scholarship, and How to Cure It: A Georgetown Symposium →

Winter 2015, Public Relations

Facebook: Who’s in Control?

facebook icon designed by dan leechAs librarians, we’re well aware of the impact relevancy algorithms have in search results. This year Facebook’s relevancy ranking – otherwise known as the “Top Stories”  in your news feed  – has come under a lot of public scrutiny. Facebook uses your actions – clicks, likes, comments – to choose what content you see, along with other factors that you have less control over.

What do they prioritize? How do we know what we’re missing? Can we push back and get more personal control? What can this tell us about larger issues like net neutrality? If you’re using Facebook for current awareness, you may not be seeing all the information you want to see.

Knowing how Facebook shows or hides what you see may change how you want to use it, so I’ll also demonstrate where you can find tools to customize your personal settings. Continue reading Facebook: Who’s in Control? →

Winter 2015

Law Firm v. Academic Librarians

I recently graduated from library school and started my law librarianship career. Although I had previously set out to become an academic law school reference librarian, I was presented with a wonderful opportunity to begin my law librarianship career at a top law firm. I am often asked how being an academic reference librarian is different than a law firm librarian. Continue reading Law Firm v. Academic Librarians →

Winter 2015, Member Profiles

CALL Member Heidi Kuehl Appointed NIU Law Library Director

CALL member Heidi Frostestad Kuehl recently joined the Northern Illinois University (NIU) College of Law as an associate professor and the director of the law library. Prior to joining NIU, Heidi was the associate director for research and reference services and the foreign, comparative, and international law librarian at Northwestern University’s law library. 

Heidi has also worked as a law librarian for Marquette University and taught international legal research at the John Marshall Law School. Heidi received her M.A. in Library Science from the University of Iowa, and her J.D. from Valparaiso University. CALL Bulletin Committee member Kara Dunn recently caught up with Heidi to find out how she is settling into her new role.
Continue reading CALL Member Heidi Kuehl Appointed NIU Law Library Director →

Winter 2015, Government Relations, CALL Executive Board

Giving Thanks for Kip Kolkmeier’s Efforts to Pass UELMA in Illinois

The CALL Executive Board approved a resolution of thanks that I was pleased to deliver to the Illinois Library Association (ILA) at its annual meeting in Springfield on October 15th.

The well-attended Members’ Meeting was held at 11:30 a.m., and I was there in plenty of time to surprise Kip Kolkmeier, the ILA Legislative Consultant who did more than anyone else to gain passage of the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (UELMA) in Illinois. Continue reading Giving Thanks for Kip Kolkmeier’s Efforts to Pass UELMA in Illinois →

Winter 2015, Government Relations

FOIA Reform Amendment in Illinois

Illinois House Bill 3796, which amends the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140), was recently enacted into law as Public Act 98-1129. This bill has been quite controversial, with many opponents arguing that it weakens the current provisions of FOIA. One such opponent was Governor Quinn, who vetoed the bill in its entirety when it came across his desk in June.

In his veto message, Quinn argued that the bill would “make it more difficult for citizens to seek public records” under FOIA while “also slow[ing] down the process for individuals who lack electronic means to request or obtain information.” However, the House and Senate both recently voted to override the Governor’s veto, with the newly-enacted law taking effect immediately.

With the debate being resolved for now, some explanation is in order as to how this law will actually play out for FOIA requests going forward. From the perspective of the Act’s opponents, two provisions of the newly-revised Act are the main causes for concern. Continue reading FOIA Reform Amendment in Illinois →

Winter 2015, CALL Committees, Placement & Recruitment

CALL-ing All Volunteers

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Do you like telling people about your career and how interesting law librarianship is? Do you have a project coming up this spring requiring a free extra helping hand?

Many of the library and information science schools near Chicago have an alternative spring break week. During the semester’s scheduled spring break, students come to all types of libraries in Chicago and the suburbs. The MLS candidates shadow librarians and/or assist on projects in the various library settings.

This is obviously a rewarding opportunity for the MLS candidate. S/he can see the day-to-day of the work and better determine what is his/her best library type and librarian type fit.

It can also be rewarding for you. You will get some help with that project gathering dust in the corner. Everyone has one of these, right? You will learn about what is new in technology, procedures and models for libraries. Perhaps by talking with this student you will learn a new way to promote and distribute eBooks in your library or find a better newsletter distribution process. We can always benefit from learning new ideas and new ways of approaching our work.

In an effort to share our love for law librarianship with others, the CALL Placement and Recruitment Committee is seeking volunteers to host an MLS candidate for a week or maybe just a day to two in the Spring of 2015. Please contact us if you are intrigued, ready or have more questions.

Annette Cade
Joanne Kiley

Winter 2015, Meetings

MAALL 2014: Fast Forward in the Windy City

MAALL logoThis October, law librarians gathered in Chicago to “fast forward.” The Mid-America Association of Law Libraries (MAALL) kicked off its annual conference in Chicago on October 5th, and thanks to the CALL Grant and Chapter Awards Committee, I was able to attend.

Lauren OdomMAALL 2014 was only my second conference, so I was not really sure what to expect as I arrived at the opening sessions at John Marshall Law School on Sunday, October 5th. As I approached the registration desk, the mood in the room was relaxed and I felt immediately welcomed. After perusing the refreshment table, I dressed up my conference badge with an iTweet ribbon and headed into my first session. Continue reading MAALL 2014: Fast Forward in the Windy City →

Winter 2015, Continuing Education

The Frightening Power of Social Media Investigations – a Special Halloween CALL Workshop

On Wednesday, October 29, CALL hosted a special Halloween workshop. Diana Koppang of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP lectured on the “Frightening Power of Social Media Investigations.” CALL members learned how to use social media websites to hunt down hard-to-find people. Continue reading The Frightening Power of Social Media Investigations – a Special Halloween CALL Workshop →