Catherine McGuire Head of Reference and Outreach, Thurgood Marshall State Law Library, Maryland Luis Interiano Reference Librarian, West Baton Rouge Library, Port Allen, Louisiana Betha Gutsche WebJunction Programs Manager, OCLC
Civil Legal Justice: The Crucial Role of f Libraries Webin inar – February ry 11, 2020
Thank you to our Funders and Partners! Funders Part rtners
Agenda ▪ Welcome ▪ The Justice Gap ▪ The Experience of a Reference Librarian ▪ The Public Library Connection ▪ The Live Online Course
Who’s in the audience? 11% 9% 7% 64% 7% Public Library Federal / National Govt, Library Consortium & Special Library State Agency / Association Academic Library NA & Other
Annotation Tools 1.Mouse over slide to find small pil ill menu at far left 2.Select top squigg ggle ic icon to open annotation tool panel 3.Select square icon 4.Select ch check mark 5.Click on slide to practice
What is your experience with providing civil legal reference? ❑ I am not at all experienced ❑ I have some training but have not applied it at my work ❑ I have provided civil legal reference in a public library ❑ I am comfortable and confident about providing civil legal reference
The Justice Gap
The Ju Justice Gap – by the numbers 86% 86% of the civil legal problems reported by low-income Americans in the past year (2017) received in inadequate or no le legal help lp. Data source: Legal Services Corporation, Justice Gap Report, June 2017
The Ju Justice Gap – low-income families Image source: Justice Gap Report: Measuring the Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-Income Americans, LSC, June 2017
The Justice Gap – by the stories Real people behind the statistics
“The public library is the local centre of information making all Where libraries fit in kinds of knowledge and information readily available to its users.” ⎯ IFLA/UNESCO Public Library Manifesto, 1994 LIBRARIES ARE LIBRARIES ARE A LIBRARY STAFF TRUSTED GATEWAY TO HAVE EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY INFORMATION WITH SENSITIVE INSTITUTIONS INTERPERSONAL INTERACTIONS
The Experience of a Reference Librarian
Photo of Library exterior, West Side Journal Map of West Baton Rouge Parish from Louisiana Studies • Reference Librarian, West Baton Rouge Library, Port Allen, Luis Interiano Louisiana • MLIS from LSU School of Library & Information Science (2006-09)
Photo of Legal Reference collection at West Baton Rouge Library
The Public Library Connection
Building a Foundation ▪ Time ▪ Exposure ▪ Experience ▪ Self-education Student by geralt on Pixabay It’s okay if you’re starting from zero.
Common Civil Legal Issues ▪ Family law ▪ Debt collection ▪ Consumer concerns ▪ Landlord-tenant ▪ Employment Sp Spir iral l effect – one issue leads to another
Language of the Law ▪ Form rmal and str tructured language ▪ Words may have dif ifferent meanin ings ▪ Keep a relia liable le reso source at hand Image by lethutrang101 on Pixabay
Interpersonal Dynamics of the Interaction ▪ Legal issues have significant consequences ▪ Emotions impact the interaction ▪ Managing emotion is part of the job ▪ Provide positive force Image by johnhain/1146 on Pixabay
How you say it matters ▪ Resp spond – not answer ▪ Focus on the " can " rather than the "cannot" ▪ Develop and practice scripted language
Legal In Information v. . Legal Advice ▪ What is the difference? ▪ Power of decision-making ▪ Rephrase ▪ You don't have to respond to the question as they phrase it ▪ Look for the information core in the question ▪ "I understand you are asking for information about..."
Looking for Law ▪ Get a foundation in civics ▪ Law written on multiple levels and branches ▪ Evaluate free versions for reliability Image by stevenpb on Pixabay
Value of Secondary Sources ▪ Best starting point ▪ Describe law in everyday, accessible language ▪ Point to primary text Se Secondary ry so sources exp xpla lain in th the la law (encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, practice materials, self-help materials)
Search Skills ▪ Play to your strengths ▪ Term selection ▪ Indexing ▪ Google Advance search ▪ What can you access? Know your resources
The Value of f Partnerships ▪ Sources for education ▪ Multiple organizations = diverse opportunities to connect ▪ Legal aid ▪ Law library ▪ Bar association ▪ Community services (government, non-profit) ▪ Both broad and narrow topical coverage
Connecting with Partners • Identify areas of need • Locate partners with related authority and ability • Make contact What do you have to lose? Image by fauxels on Pexels
The Live Online Course
The overall training plan Live online instructor-led course: April 2020 Self-paced online course: launches in October 2020 Facilitator training: March 2021
Course Topics Understanding the Recognizing the role of of public lib libraries dif ifference betw tween Conducting the leg legal l in addressing the leg legal in information and reference in interview justice gap legal advice le Reviewing and Examining commonly Exploring trusted strengthening your addressed and local- and state- library’s civ civil il le legal important civ civil l le legal specific on onli line self lf- reference col ollection top opics, help elp res esources Identifying and cultivating rel elationships wit ith loc local or organizations
Instructors ▪ Sa Sara Pic ic – Head of Public Services, Law Library of Louisiana ▪ Sa Sarah La Larsen – Outreach Librarian, Minnesota State Law Library ▪ Ca Catherin ine McGuir ire – Head of Reference and Outreach, Thurgood Marshall State Law Library, Maryland
When How to Enroll ▪ April 6 – May 8 ▪ Follow link in chat ▪ Four live, online, instructor-led ▪ Click on Co Course Titl Title sessions over 5 weeks ▪ May need to create fr free ▪ Tuesdays, 3pm ET / 12pm PT account in WebJunction ▪ Readings, activities, and catalog discussions in between live sessions Apr pril il 6-12 12 Apr pril il 13 13-19 19 Apr pril il 20 20 – May 3 3 May 4-8 8 Lesson 1 Less Less Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Less 3 Less Lesson 4 Live sess Liv sessio ion: Apr pril il 7 Liv Live sess sessio ion: Apr pril il 14 14 Liv Live sess sessio ion: Apr pril il 21 21 Liv Live sess sessio ion: May 5
Thank you!
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