Law Libraries
What is a Law Librarian?
Law librarians are information professionals that specialize in facilitating access to legal information. The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) is the primary professional association serving law librarians and other legal information professionals. AALL’s strategic directions include continuous improvement in the quality of justice among its core values.
Access to Justice
As providers of legal information in their institutions, law libraries of all types play a fundamental role in fostering access to justice. The 2014 AALL Law Libraries and Access to Justice special report identifies existing law library programs for access to justice and recommends new collaborations and roles for law libraries depending on their work setting.
AALL has other initiatives in access to justice, including:
- Outreach to other organizations including the SRLN - see An “Outsider’s” View provided by Katherine Alteneder, SRLN Coordinator, on page 4 in the December 2014 Access to Justice Members' Briefing (opens as PDF) who attended the 2014 AALL Annual meeting as VIP guest.
- Written and videotaped testimony before the American Bar Association Commission on the Future of Legal Services.
- Standards for government Web sites with information about official status, authentication, and preservation for each state.
The AALL website provides online resources for all types of law libraries:
- Government Law Libraries (formerly State, County and Court)- see also, The Value of Public Law Library, A Guide for Government and Court Decision Makers (opens as PDF)
- Academic Law Libraries - see also the section's Marketing and Outreach page, an ongoing project of the ALL-SIS Library Marketing & Outreach Committee
- Private Law Libraries and Information Professionals
There is a plethora of materials here that may drawn upon from around the country in gauging the public’s need for access to legal information and services and the evolving role of law libraries in facilitating access.

Open to the Public – 2024 How Law Libraries are Serving Self-Represented Litigants Across the Country

Survey: SRLN Library Working Group National Self-Help in Libraries Survey (SRLN 2019)

Survey: SRLN Library Working Group National Self-Help in Libraries Survey (SRLN 2013)

SRLN Brief: Law Library Ethics
Resource: Access to Justice and Law Libraries (Law Librarians of New England 2011)
Conference: ALL ACCESS: Access to Justice Conference (LLAM 2014)

SRLN Brief: The Case for Public Library Services for the Self-Represented: An Opportunity to Enhance Access to Justice for All (SRLN 2008)

Article: Law Libraries Serving Self-Represented Litigants (NCSC 2015)
Report: Law Libraries and Access to Justice. A Special Report of the American Association of Law Libraries Access to Justice Special Committee (AALL 2014)
