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
- Oregon County Law Library Services
- OSB Elder Law Newsletter article on County Law Libraries (April 2012)
- Services that disappear if Oregon county law library funding is cut off: Washington County Law Library and Washington County and Clackamas County Law Libraries, Combined List
3) TASK FORCES and REPORTS
- OLA/LSTA Metz Report (2010) (PDF)
- Evaluation of OLA/LSTA Metz Report (PDF)
- Oregon Workgroup on Libraries & Archives (Feb 2012 Report) (This was for the Oregon Legislature on the State Law Library, not on County Law Libraries) (PDFs)
- OLA Task Force on Statewide Access to Legal Information (website)
4) OREGON ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS MODELS REVIEWS & REPORTS
- Alternative Business Model & Legislative Concept: Oregon County Law Libraries, Oct. 2012 (LC Grid) (PDF)
- Alternative Business Models: Part One (organizational structure) (PDF)
- Alternative Business Models: Part Two (funding) (PDF)
- Alternative Business Models: Part Three (Draft RFP) (PDF)
- Task Force Proposal 2008 (Oregon county law libraries) (PDF)
- Task Force Proposal 2010 (Oregon county law libraries) (PDF)
- Task Force Proposal Feb 2011 (Oregon county law libraries) (PDF)
- Task Force Proposal March 2011 (Oregon county law libraries) (PDF)
5) ALTERNATIVE PUBLIC LAW LIBRARY SERVICE MODELS FROM OTHER STATES
- Richard Zorza's Access to Justice Blog and his report: "The Twenty First Century Access to Justice Law Library:Vision, Deployment and Assessment," prepared for the Chicago Bar Foundation, February 2012 (PDF)
- Collaborative Lawyer-Law Librarian Task Forces (multi-state) (PDF)
List of Public Law Libraries located in or affiliated with Public Libraries (PDF) - More County-Public Law Library Sample Legislation (PDF)
- Council of California County Law Librarians Task Force (PDF)
- Minnesota County Law Libraries Report (statewide) (PDF)
- Minnesota County Law Libraries Report 2011 Update (PDF)
- Minnesota County Law Libraries Report 2012 Update (PDF)
- Minnesota-Ohio Sample Legislation (PDF)
- Ohio County Law Libraries Agreement (PDF)
- Ohio County Law Libraries Bylaws (PDF)
- Ohio County Law Libraries Case Study 2010 (PDF)
- Ohio County Law Libraries Goals (PDF)
6) MISCELLANEOUS
- American Association of Law Libraries (AALL): Government Law Libraries (GLL) Section Website
- California County Public Law Libraries
7) SAMPLE SELF-HELP DIRECTORIES
- Utah: "Legal Information vs. Legal Advice: Guidelines and Instructions for Court Staff Who Work with Self-Represented Litigants in Utah's State Courts" (April 2010) (PDF)
- Washington State: "Preparing for Your Day in Court A Handbook to Self-Representation in the King County Superior Courts" (October 2010) (PDF) (You can also find this guide from the King County Superior Court webpage.)
8) Other Access to Justice (A2J) Organizations
- ABA Standing Committee on Access to Justice
- ABA State Access to Justice Commissions
- Equal Justice Conference
- National Center for State Courts (their Court Consulting Services offers consultant services on law library issues)
- SCCLL LISP Joint Committee on Pro Bono Partnership
- Self-represented Litigation Network (SRLN) Law Librarian’s Working Group (membership required); visit the SRLN website for information.