2008 AALL Annual Meeting and Conference

Library Tours

Library tours will be offered during the Annual Meeting to showcase different kinds of Portland libraries—private law firm libraries, court libraries and academic libraries—and a bookstore, too. There is no charge for these tours, but advance registration is required. Tours will fill up quickly, so be sure to register early. Walking tours may include use of public transportation and will require up to 15 minutes of walking each way. Tours are subject to cancellation if there is insufficient registration. Due to limited availability, please sign up for only one tour by June 6.

Perkins Coie LLP (Walking Tour) – Limit 20 people
Monday, July 14 • 9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Perkins Coie LLP is a leading international law firm with 650 lawyers in 15 offices across the United States and in China. The Portland office, now celebrating its 25th year, moved to the Pearl District in 2003. The nationally recognized LEED-certified building in which it is located is the former site of the historic Blitz-Weinhard Brewery, a mere half block from world-famous Powell’s Books. The library was the first department to move into the new space, giving ample time to relocate 2,200 linear feet of collection in call number order on compact shelving. The Portland library has a staff of 1.5 and uses InMagic to support 74 attorneys. This tour will include a look at the library’s physical space and a presentation in the McLoughlin conference room. After the tour, refreshments will be offered outside on the 10th floor deck.

Lewis & Clark Law School Library (Bus Tour)
Monday, July 14 • 9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
(Bus loads at 9:00 a.m.)

With the serene forested canopy of Tryon Creek State Park as a backdrop, the Paul L. Boley Law Library of Lewis & Clark Law School provides a stunning and peaceful facility in which to study law. The library contains over 525,000 volumes and volume-equivalents as well as one of the most comprehensive collections of environmental and natural resources legal materials in the country. The law library building, designed by Seattle architect Paul Thiry in 1970, is a post-modern "inverted hyperbolic paraboloid" structure. Surrounded by a curtain wall of glass, the building brings the outside inside in dramatic fashion. To complete the visit, we’ll tour five-year-old Wood Hall, a LEED-certified "green" building containing classrooms, computer labs, student study space and library staff offices.

Miller Nash LLP (Walking Tour) – Limit 15 people
Tuesday, July 15 • 9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Miller Nash LLP is a Pacific Northwest regional firm of 125 lawyers, with the largest group in the Portland office. The main part of the library collection is on high-density automated shelving on the 34th floor of the U.S. Bancorp Tower—with a great view of Mount St. Helens and its activities. Additional large subject collections are housed on two other floors. Three librarians in Portland and one in the Seattle office work together to serve those two locations and offices in Vancouver, Washington and Central Oregon. The library is largely responsible for the firm’s intranet, especially the research pages, and the library’s catalog is available on the intranet for attorneys in all of the offices.

U.S. Courts Library in Pioneer Courthouse (Walking Tour) – Limit 25 people
Tuesday, July 15 • 9:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

The Pioneer Courthouse, located directly across from its namesake square in the center of downtown Portland at 700 S.W. Sixth Avenue, is the second oldest federal courthouse west of the Mississippi River. Completed in 1875, this National Historic Landmark is the Portland home of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The most recent major renovation of the building was completed in December 2005 and included seismic retrofitting and the construction of a brand new first floor library. In addition to the library, we will include a visit to the courtroom and a judge’s chambers, and a climb up to the cupola. If you are unable to participate in this tour, you are encouraged to visit on your own while in Portland.

Powell’s Books (Walking Tour) – Limit 20 people
Tuesday, July 15 • 9:15 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Powell’s City of Books is a book lover’s paradise, the world’s largest new and used bookstore. Occupying an entire city block in downtown Portland, Powell’s stocks more than a million books in nine color-coded rooms. The store buys 3,000 used books over the counter every day; about 3,000 people walk in and buy something every day; and another 3,000 people just browse and drink coffee in the store. Powell’s offers something for every interest, including a wide selection of out-of-print and hard-to-find titles. On our trip into Powell’s rare book room, we’ll get a peek at the $30,000 historic Lewis and Clark journals.

Multnomah County Public Library (Walking Tour) – Limit 20 people
Tuesday, July 15 • 9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

The oldest public library system west of the Mississippi, the Multnomah County Library has a history that reaches back to 1864. The historic Central Library first opened in 1913 and was beautifully remodeled ten years ago. As Oregon’s largest public library, the Multnomah County Library serves nearly one-fifth of the state’s population, with a wide variety of programs and services.