Tag Archives: Chicago International

Chicago International special theme issue (Winter 2016)

Winter 2016, Member Profiles

Chicago Where in the World? Map

As this is the international issue of the CALL Bulletin, it seemed appropriate to find out where our members have traveled. In September 2015, we sent out a three question survey to CALL members and plotted the answers on a map.

The responses to each of the questions are layered in different colors. “Where is the furthest you’ve traveled from home?” is in red. “What was your most memorable trip?” is plotted in blue. And, “What is your dream trip?” is green.  In total, there were 38 responses, including 4 anonymous responses and one person who answered twice (whose answers were almost exactly the same and were combined). The respondents range from retired, to law school and law firm librarians, to public law librarians and vendors (although not everyone provided demographic information).

Take a look at the map to see the results: “Where in the World?” map

Winter 2016

Traveling in Madagascar

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In September 2003, I took a two week trip to Madagascar using my Delta Air Lines miles. Traveling solo, I had my excellent guide Jocelyn and my excellent driver Solofo, and together we traveled the whole country by air and car. When traveling by road, we would come upon various villages. At these villages, I would send the driver ahead, and Jocelyn and I would walk through the village, meet the local people, take photos, and often have a parade of children following us by the end of our “tour.”

While en route to Isalo National Park, we stopped in Ilakaka, a village in the south of Madagascar.  I met René Fulgence, a teenager who spoke very good English (in a country in which French and Malagasy are primarily spoken) and we walked the village together. René was delighted at the opportunity to practice his English and briefly told me of his plans to teach English. I had not much time in this town so I gave him my email address if he wanted to speak further. Continue reading Traveling in Madagascar →

Winter 2016

International Travel Adds So Much to Your Life!

Photo of Ruth Bridges
Ruth Bridges

For the last few years, I have been traveling internationally with a group I formed called Literary Sisters. The women are together because we share a love of reading, in book clubs, or on our own. We enjoy traveling with like-minded people and have a great time. If you love reading and movies, there is something so uplifting about visiting the places we have been reading about, or seeing in movies. There are usually 25 women in the group although, next March, we are taking an Arabian Cruise from Dubai and 50 have signed up to go.  Here are some observations on our recent trips.

Europe

Paris is the backdrop for many stories and movies. Being there, walking the streets and boulevards, crossing the bridges, standing at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower just as the lights are turned on in the evening, was exciting.

 

Photo of the Literary Sisters at a hotel in Paris
Here we are at our Paris hotel.

Many of us have the pleasure of living in cities like Chicago and New York with lots of lovely art galleries. But the Louvre remains prized above the rest. Go to the Louvre and experience the best and, while in Paris, also visit the Musée d’Orsay, home of the art of the impressionists, Manet, Monet and others. The art galleries in Paris are huge, wonderful and unforgettable.

Continue reading International Travel Adds So Much to Your Life! →

Winter 2016

Meeting the Global Library Community at IFLA

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Cape Town, South Africa, was the destination for over 3200 delegates who converged there in August 2015 to take part in the annual World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). An IFLA conference presents attendees with a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with colleagues from over 100 other countries, to network and collaborate, and to consider issues and trends affecting library and information services around the world.

Photo of Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa
Table Mountain (Cape Town, South Africa)

This year, South Africa’s “Mother City” provided a memorable setting, with its striking scenery (such as Table Mountain pictured above), its vibrant mix of cultures, and its complex political history. Attendees from the United States numbered around 230. While Sally Holterhoff was the only member of CALL who participated this year, the 2015 roster of delegates included eleven Chicago-area librarians (from all types of libraries) and library association personnel, as well as another eight from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

As you might expect, a major component of an IFLA conference is educational programs, and this year’s schedule included a total of 87 of them in four days. Many IFLA programs are based on the “call for papers” model, with potential speakers submitting written papers ahead of time, a selection process, and then those whose papers are chosen appearing at the conference to present a condensed version of their papers, as part of a program (which may be two or three hours long overall). Described below (with links to more detailed information) are the two programs sponsored this year by the Law Libraries Section (one of 43 sections within IFLA). Continue reading Meeting the Global Library Community at IFLA →