Have you ever wondered what this sign is all about?
The Library of International Relations (LIR) at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the legacy of LIR founder Eloise ReQua, who created the LIR to help promote international understanding of the world’s cultures. What began as a collection of pamphlets in a small room at the Crerar Library, then at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street, eventually grew to more than 300,000 volumes. After several moves, the LIR finally found a permanent home at the Law School in 1983.
This plaque of Eloise ReQua is next to the elevator on the 8th floor
Through her far-reaching international correspondence, Ms. ReQua acquired a remarkable range of materials, from League of Nations and early United Nations documents to the Soviet war posters still displayed today around the library. Titles from the LIR are housed throughout the Law Library’s collection, and can be identified by a Library of International Relations stamp inside the book.
Because the LIR was absorbed into the Law Library’s collection and doesn’t exist as a separate, standalone library, it’s impossible to point to exactly where the LIR resides, but many of the titles on the 8th floor, in particular, came to the Law Library thanks to Ms. ReQua’s decades of effort.
In an upcoming post, we’ll highlight one of the special LIR titles held by the Law Library.
So this is where the Library of International Relations is now. Wonderful.