OLA Conference 2018

Did you know that each county in Oregon is statutorily required to “operate a free law library…or provide free law library services at one or more locations that are convenient and available at reasonable hours?” However, what those libraries look like and the depth of resources they offer vary dramatically among the state’s 36 counties.

This session will showcase specific ways that small and rural counties are striving to provide public law library services via county law libraries, public libraries, and/or partnerships with other agencies. A panel of speakers will share their efforts to help further “access to justice” goals – that is, the endeavor to promote accessibility and ensure fairness within the justice system. Attendees will learn about “Lawyer in the Law Library” events in Columbia County, the Access to Justice Committee in Deschutes County, the Law Library Advisory Committee and legal education programs in Klamath County, and the public library-county law library working relationship in Josephine County. Supplemental materials will provide additional examples of outreach, marketing, and training strategies that promote community access to legal information. Allowing for sufficient Q&A time, attendees will leave enlightened and inspired to investigate how their county can enhance legal information services to the public.