This year, the Riverside County Law Library sent three staff members to the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) annual conference in Chicago, Illinois. Victoria, Andy, and Rhonda left sunny Southern California and made their way to the windy city on the morning of the CrowdStrike shutdown. Luckily, Southwest Airlines did not let them down and they made it safely and on time! Upon arriving, a common question amongst AALL attendees was, “What airline did you fly in on?”

Rhonda and Andy hit the ground running at the Conference of Newer Law Librarians (CONELL). Here, they met law librarians from around the country who are new to the profession and were attending the conference for the first time. CONELL allowed participants to hear directly from AALL president June Liebert. She spoke of her time in AALL and how she had made lifetime friends and connections because of CONELL. Later, Andy shared a friendship bracelet with her to thank her for her message. June very kindly mentioned Andy in her keynote speech delivered to all AALL attendees the following day. She remarked that the friendship bracelets were an excellent example of making connections at the conference. For the rest of the weekend, Andy became something of a celebrity and the few friendship bracelets she brought along became rare collector’s items. CONELL also allowed participants to meet all the special interest sections, local chapters, and caucus groups.

After a round or two of speed networking, Rhonda and Andy visited the Poetry Foundation Library located in downtown Chicago. The Poetry Foundation Library’s building entices conversation just like the many works it houses. The architecture invites guests to become enveloped in its calming garden, so much so that it almost feels distant from the city. The stacks of books inside are visible from the garden and create a welcoming view. The library guide—part of the small but mighty staff—presented the materials in the exhibition gallery along with the rest of the library which the whole staff work together to curate. The gallery features a mural of the founder, Harriet Monroe, and an exhibition commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the Chicago Poetry Center. There is also a small section for children that features a comfortable rug and toys to enjoy. In the center of the library is a desk that lures guests to embrace their creativity and write a poem or two to share with future library visitors. Overall, the library features a welcoming atmosphere where all are free to browse the materials and discover new authors.

Following a busy day of networking and exploring the city, the conference was in full swing after the opening of the Exhibit Hall filled with the booths of vendors excited to share their information with the attendees. It was a great opportunity to meet vendor representatives in person and learn about their goals for the upcoming year. Rhonda and Andy stopped by the LexisNexis Digital Library Exhibitor showcase to greet and give her a friendship bracelet! Andrea Roberts is RCLL’s LexisNexis Digital Library representative and has been a close partner in promoting the helpful product to library patrons! The rest of the conference was full of informative sessions, networking opportunities, and activities. There were several opportunities to meet with the special interest groups formed around various library specializations, such as library tech. Rhonda and Andy loved having the opportunity to meet many professionals, including Jenny Silbiger from the Hawai’i Supreme Court Law Library, Daisy De Anda from Sheppard Mullin, and Shira Megerman from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law.

RCLL Director Victoria Williamson had the following to say about her experience at this year’s conference:

“I have attended AALL Conferences for more than two decades now and every year AALL has consistently excelled in putting together an impressive array of educational programs, workshops, exhibits, and networking opportunities that keep law librarians engaged, well-connected, and ‘in the know’ of the latest developments in the legal information industry, and this year’s conference in Chicago is no exception. Cory Doctorow’s keynote speech Ending the Enshittocene: Why Everything Is Terrible But We Can Fix It and the ‘Westlaw Party’ held in the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry were the highlights for me.”

Rhonda, Andy, and Victoria look forward to sharing what they learned with staff here at RCLL and look forward to the opportunity to return to AALL in the future!

Written by: Andrea Valencia, User Experience Librarian and Rhonda Cloud, Acquisitions and Metadata Librarian.