LLAM’s All Access to Justice Legal Research Institute was held last Friday, March 21st at the University of Baltimore Angelos Law Center.  The event was a huge success; Kate Martin and her committee did a terrific job and we thank them for their efforts!

Librarians from across the state and all over the country convened at UB to learn about current issues and solutions for ensuring Access to Justice for all of our patrons. The programming covered the A2J topic from a variety of aspects; discussions included the basics of what Access to Justice is, how Public Libraries play a role in the future of the movement, what Private Law Librarians can do to advance the cause, the Academic Library’s role, and the type of assistance State and County Law Libraries should provide. The major theme throughout the day was that we need to remember we are librarians and while we can help a patron locate and utilize the correct resources, we must be careful not to give legal advice.

The number of Self-Represented Litigants (“SRLs”) in the country is growing for a variety of reasons and the Librarian’s role in helping them navigate the confusing and tumultuous legal landscape is an essential one.  It was exhilarating to gather with librarians from a variety of backgrounds and learn how each of us can contribute to this effort.

You can find more information, videos, slides, and PDFs of all of the handouts from the seminar HERE.

-Sara Thomas
Communications Committee Chair

We want to make next time even better! If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to give us some feedback about your conference experience at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/justice2014.