Public Law Libraries: Selected Readings

 

INTRODUCTION:

Legal Reference, Self-Represented Litigants, Limited Scope Legal Assistance, Law Clinics, Civil Gideon, Lawyers in Libraries, and related Public Law Library Issues:

* State and local public law libraries around the country are exploring alternative organization, management, and funding models for providing legal information to attorneys, courts, and the public.

** Other states' public law library organizational models and self-help and access to justice program initiatives may be useful road maps:

State and County Law Libraries: Funding and Governance Grid

Statewide Access to Justice (A2J) and Self-Represented Litigant (SRL)
Collaborations Between Law Libraries AND Courts, Bar Associations, and Legal
Aid Organizations

 

The following reading list favors Oregon, but documents from many other states are included to illustrate the wide range of activities that public law librarians and access to justice (A2J) advocates can take to improve their own state's A2J range of services.

The ProBono dot net webinar series for public libraries is also a good introduction to the work public law librarians do: ProBono.net Libraries and Access to Justice Webinars.

Latest Additions(s) to Reading List

a) Proposal for Oregon County and State Law Library Collaboration 13Nov 12 (PDF)

b) Cordova, Dan (Colorado Supreme Court Librarian), "Unbundling Online Legal Materials: One State Government Law Library's Perspective," The CRIV Sheet, vol. 36, no. 2, February 2014.

c) Svengalis, Kendall, "Legal Information Buyer's Guide & Reference Manual." New England Law Press [published annually] [Loads of information about the history and operation of the legal publishing industry.]

d) Utah Self Help 1: Final Report 2006 Survey of Self-Represented Parties in the Utah State Courts (82 pages)

e) Utah Self Help 2: Committee on Resources for Self-Represented Parties Strategic Planning Initiative Report to the Judicial Council July 25, 2006 (13 pages)

f) Balleste, Roy, Sonia Luna-Lamas and Lisa Smith-Butler (eds.) "Law Librarianship in the Twenty-First Century," 2nd edition. Scarecrow Press, 2014

g) Ellyssa Kroski, "Law Librarianship in the Digital Age." Scarecrow Press, 2013.

1) BOOKS

  • Aycock, Anthony, "The Accidental Law Librarian." Information Today, Inc., 2013.

  • Eubanks, Virginia, "Digital dead end : fighting for social justice in the information age," MIT Press, 2011.

  • Fishman, Joel and Dittakavi Rao, compilers, "Navigating Legal Research & Technology: "Quick Reference Guide to the 1,500 Most Common Questions about Traditional and Online Legal Research." Bridge Publishing Group LLC, 2010.

  • Healey, Paul D., "Legal Reference for Librarians: How and Where to Find the Answers." ALA, 2014.

  • Healey, Paul D., " Professional Liability Issues for Librarians and Information Professionals." Neal-Schuman, 2008.

  • Selwyn, Laurie and Virginia Eldridge., "Public Law Librarianship: Objectives, Challenges, and Solutions," IGI Global, 2012.

  • Still, Julie M., "The Accidental Webmaster." Information Today, 2003.

  • Tucker, Virginia and Marc Lampson., "Finding the Answers to Legal Questions." Neal-Schuman Publishers Inc., 2011.

2) OREGON COUNTY LAW LIBRARY SERVICES

3) TASK FORCES and REPORTS

4) OREGON ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS MODELS REVIEWS & REPORTS

5) ALTERNATIVE PUBLIC LAW LIBRARY SERVICE MODELS FROM OTHER STATES

6) MISCELLANEOUS

7) SAMPLE SELF-HELP DIRECTORIES

8) Other Access to Justice (A2J) Organizations