Webinar: SRLN/SCCLL Access to Justice Webinar Series II/II - Best Practices for Court, County, and Government Law Libraries (SRLN 2015)

Tuesday, March 24, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Eastern Panelists: Sara Galligan, Joan Bellistri, and Janine Liebert Moderator: James Durham

Program Description:

As we claim our role in alleviating the justice gap, law librarians provide unique services for self-represented litigants and are critical advocates for essential library services. This webinar is specifically for court, county, and government law librarians who want to learn basic service benchmarks as well as touchstones for evolving services. Whether a practical lesson or best practice for library self help programs, these guiding principles will energize attendees. The program will serve as a catalyst for enhancing services in all public law libraries, no matter how small or large. It will also convince law librarians that they can and must promote law library services among other collaborators in the legal community.

You may view the full recorded webinar below.

You may download the webinar slides at the link below.

View webinar slides here

About the Panelists:

 
James G. Durham has served as the Deputy Director of the Maryland State Law Library since 2011. He holds a Master of Science in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a J.D. from The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. Before joining the Maryland Judiciary, James served as the Head of Public Services for the Gould Law Library at Touro Law Center in Central Islip, N.Y. Prior to Touro Law Center, James served as the Publications and Reference Librarian at the Fred Parks Law Library of South Texas College of Law in Houston. During law school, he interned for one summer at DNA – People’s Legal Services in Window Rock, Arizona, assisting with the legal needs of members of the Navajo and Hopi Nations. During the course of his career, he has served as an adjunct professor of graduate and law school courses, including legal bibliography, foreign and international legal research, and sexual orientation law. He currently serves as the Vice President / President Elect of the Law Library Association of Maryland (LLAM) and as a board member for the State, Court, and County Law Libraries – Special Interest Section (SCCLL-SIS) of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). He is a member of the Self Represented Litigants Network – Librarians’ Working Group. His review of Lawyers as Leaders by Deborah Rhode appeared in the 2014 issue of Law Library Journal.
 

Janine Liebert joined the LA Law Library in 2009 as a reference librarian overseeing library services for self-represented litigants. In her current position as Senior Public Interest Librarian within the Programs & Partnerships team at LA Law Library, Janine continues to focus on the need for access to legal information and resources and ways to develop, coordinate and implement law library services to meet those needs. Janine is a frequent speaker to various groups about issues facing the delivery of legal information and resources to the public. She is the 2014 recipient of the American Association of Law Libraries Annual Emerging Leader Award. Janine is the current chair of the Self-Represented Litigation Network (SRLN) Law Librarians’ Working Group and Federal Self-Help Innovations Working Group. She also chairs the SCCLL Pro Bono Partnerships Committee. She also served two terms as Chair of the AALL Legal Information Services to the Public (LISP) special interest section. Janine holds an undergraduate degree from Amherst College in Massachusetts, a master’s degree from St. John’s College in New Mexico and a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from UCLA.
 

Joan Bellistri has been the director of the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library for more than 30 years. During this time she has seen the number of those representing themselves increase exponentially. Her interest in serving this population has led to her involvement in the Self Represented Litigation Network - Law Librarians’ Working Group, membership in the Maryland Access to Justice Self Represented Committee, and membership on the Maryland Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Pro Bono Service. Joan is the current chair of Anne Arundel County’s Local Pro Bono Committee and has instituted a weekly Lawyer in the Library program and has partnered with the public library to offer the program on a monthly basis. Joan is the current AALL Representative to the Self Represented Litigation Network and worked with Sara Galligan, Marnie Warner and Charles Dyer on the survey of library self-help programs and services: Library Self-Help Programs and Services: A Survey of Law Library Programs for Self-Represented Litigants, including Self-Help Centers, conducted by the Law Librarians’ Working Group of the Self Represented Litigation Network.
 

Sara Galligan is the Director of the Ramsey County Law Library, which supports the legal research needs of attorneys, judges, law clerks, county attorneys, government staff and the general public. She received her MSLS (Library Science) from Wayne State University, her MPA (Public Administration) from the University of Michigan, and her JD from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. Her previous positions include Dakota County Law Library Manager, Head of Technical Services, MN State Law Library; and Information Resources Specialist, MN Department of Transportation Library. She is a former president of the Minnesota Association of Law Libraries (MALL) and has chaired AALL’s  (American Association of Law Libraries) State, Court, and County Law Libraries section, AALL’s Legal Information Services to the Public section, and AALL’s Special Committee on Pro Bono Partnerships.  In 2013-14 she chaired AALL’s Special Committee on Access to Justice. She’s a member of the MN state bar and has served for several years on the Bar Association’s Pro Se Implementation Committee.  In 2006, the Minnesota State Court Administrator appointed her to a Statewide Law Library/Self Help Center Project Task Force. She is a current member of the Self-Represented Litigation Network (SRLN) which is affiliated with the National Center for State Courts.