What Public Librarians Need to Know About Providing Legal Reference

A 2019 report from the World Justice Project, a nonprofit focused on advancing the rule of law around the world, found that 5.1 billion people worldwide lack basic access to justice. For many, this includes a lack of access to legal representation. The ranks of self-represented, or pro se (Latin for “for oneself”), litigants are growing. An estimated 30 million people each year are reported to lack legal representation in US state courts. US federal courts saw a 20 percent increase in pro se filings from 2010 to 2019. According to a 2022 Legal Services Corporation report, “Low-income Americans do not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their civil legal problems” (Slosar).

The reason for the representation gap is often financial—the average person can’t afford a lawyer—but not always. Even in wealthy countries, there are often large geographical areas with few or no lawyers. Moreover, according to the UK Legal Services Board, some people who could hire a lawyer may not do so due to “a widespread view that the customer service [lawyers] provide is often fairly poor,” particularly regarding their “lack of transparency over cost.”

Where, then, do people turn for legal help? The internet is one place. There are many free legal websites of varying quality. Many countries offer a free or low-cost legal aid service, but eligibility requirements can be rigid. In the United States, for example, a family has to be living at 125 percent or below the federal poverty guidelines to qualify.

One free, high-quality option is sometimes overlooked: libraries.

Public law libraries have been around a while. The oldest in the US is the Law Library Company of the City of Philadelphia, now the Jenkins Library, founded in 1802. Originally a members-only library—dues were $2 per year—the library is now open to the public. (This pales in comparison to, say, the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, which was built in 1320 and has been a legal deposit library since the 1600s.)

Unfortunately, many areas don’t have a dedicated law library. What they do have is at least one public library.

Public librarians are often hesitant to help with legal questions. Some worry that a misstep when providing legal reference could open them to a charge of UPL—the unauthorized practice of law. Legal research is also specialized, and many librarians aren’t trained in the discipline.

But a librarian giving reference assistance does not typically constitute UPL. All your library needs is a clearly articulated policy that spells out what librarians can and can’t do vis-à-vis legal research. Here, for instance, is the one my library uses.

And inexperience with legal research can be fixed, starting with a how-to book (Nolo has a fantastic one). Additional steps a librarian can take to learn how to provide legal reference include:

1. Browse research guides on academic law library websites. Georgetown University has some outstanding ones. For international law, I recommend the guides at Harvard, Northwestern, and the United Nations’ Dag Hammarskjöld Library.
2. Learn legal citation. If you are asked to retrieve a statute, court case, regulation, or any other document, you will most likely have only a citation to work from. Two excellent primers: Cornell and the University of Washington.
3. Know which branch of government—legislative, judicial, or executive/regulatory—is responsible for what types of legal issues. Patrons often confuse these and will need your help keeping them straight.
4. Understand your country’s court system. In the US, for instance, there is a federal court system as well as one for each of the 50 states, and they do not use the same terminology. In most states, for example, the highest court is called the Supreme Court; but in New York, the Supreme Court is the trial court, which is the lowest level.
5. Gain a basic understanding of jurisdiction, civil vs. criminal law, and substantive vs. procedural law.
6. Know where to find judicial forms, which are the basis of a lot of law-related questions. In the US, for example, federal judicial forms can be found on the US courts’ website. States have their own unique forms that are available through state court websites.

What brings many patrons, attorney and non-attorney, to a law library is the need to take action—for instance, respond to a complaint or administrative notice. The best way to help those patrons is to stay focused on that action. Some questions to ask:

• Do you have specific citations or a general subject?
• What is the purpose of this research?
• What do you already know about this topic?
• Do you need laws, regulations, cases, procedures, news, or history?
• What jurisdiction do you need: federal, state, local, or international?
• Do you need plain language or professional legal texts?
• Do you need the law as it was originally passed or as it stands today?

If the research is being driven by a particular document—say, a legislative bill or court order—ask to see it. You might find clues to guide the research, such as a bill sponsor, case or statute citation, or other reference.

Some patrons may offer incomplete information, such as a partial citation or a statute’s common name rather than its citation. In those instances, ask for the context of the question. This will enable you to recommend more resources. For instance, in the United States, someone who asks for “Title IX” probably means the Education Amendments of 1972, which means they are likely researching sex discrimination in public schools. I would offer such a person a resource on education law.

After nearly 25 years as a law librarian, I’ve learned that most people don’t visit my library for fun. The situations they face are serious, complex, and urgent, such as a divorce or child custody dispute. Sometimes, as with medical questions, they can be life-or-death—for example, a situation of elder abuse or domestic violence. I’ve also realized that the law is catnip to low-information voters, conspiracy theorists, sovereign citizens, and the like, many of whom call in to catalog their grievances with the government. Some of them want me to join their struggle, becoming Sancho Panza to their Don Quixote.

What is the best way to handle such patrons?

The main thing is to treat every question seriously and every patron with respect. Focus on the question, not the patron. Keep them talking. Say, “Can you tell me more? I’m not sure I understand.”

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If the patron becomes aggressive, then the goal is no longer just to offer information—it is to avoid an incident. This may require changes in your approach such as:

• Making eye contact;
• Modulating your tone, volume, facial expressions, and body language;
• Being patient with angry outbursts;
• Letting the patron talk without interruption; and
• Accepting their reality.

Another key is to listen—really listen. Too often, librarians want to jump into a search instead of hearing the patron out. This is a mistake. Here is how library consultant and educator Miriam Kahn (2019) puts it:

“The beginning of a query does not mean starting to type and explore online resources. It does not mean formulating a research strategy immediately. It does not entail jumping in and searching. The reference interview requires patience, requires attention, and requires that we engage active listening skills.”

This is especially true in legal reference interviews. Many people don’t understand the law or legal procedure, meaning I find myself explaining the same concepts over and over. It’s easy to get jaded in such situations.

How do I avoid that? By remembering that nobody contacts a law library for fun. In many cases, I am not even their first phone call. They’ve already called the police, the courthouse, the department of social services, legal aid agencies, and/or the mayor, governor, or state and federal legislators. They get the runaround in all these places, and by the time they wind up talking to me, their desperation is palpable. The least I can do is point them in the right direction.

So should any librarian who is faced with responding to a legal reference question. Don’t avoid such questions—embrace them. Trust that you can do what librarians always do: help.

References

Kahn, M. (2019, March 13). Librarians and technology part 6: Active listening enhances focus. Lucidea. https://lucidea.com/blog/active-listening-enhances-focus/

Slosar, M. (2022). The justice gap: the unmet civil legal needs of low-income Americans. Legal Services Corporation. https://justicegap.lsc.gov/the-report/

World Justice Project. (2019). Measuring the justice gap: A people-centered assessment of unmet justice needs around the world. Pathfinders. https://www.sdg16.plus/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/03/90b3d6_a68d44bda2bc469c95248a9500723f9d.pdf