Posted
For Immediate Release: Monday, October 17, 2016
Washington County Law Library Celebrates 90 Years of Service
The Washington County Law Library is proud to celebrate 90 years of distinguished service. On Tuesday, October 18, the Washington County Board of Commissioners are scheduled to issue a proclamation in honor of the Law Library's anniversary at their 10:00 a.m. public meeting. From 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., the Law Library will host an open house with a light lunch reception. All members of the community are welcome to join the celebration and tour the library, located at 111 NE Lincoln St., Hillsboro, on the second floor.
The Law Library began in 1926 with a simple order by the Washington County Court stating that a law library would provide "a great and substantial benefit to the courts, lawyers, litigants, taxpayers, and inhabitants of the county of Washington." The Law Library resided in the downtown Hillsboro courthouse until 1984 when it relocated to Linklater Commons on Second Avenue. Then, in 1993, the Law Library partnered with Washington County and the Washington County Bar Association to build the Juvenile Services/DeMar Batchelor Law Library Building across from the courthouse, where the library still resides.
Legal information has changed dramatically in the past 90 years, while benefits to county residents and the legal community have expanded. Online databases have streamlined legal research, numerous self-help books are available for non-lawyers, and the internet allows law librarians to utilize a vast array of resources to help patrons.
The Washington County Law Library offers several premium electronic legal research resources to the public at no cost. One of these, HeinOnline, is offered remotely thanks to a partnership between the Law Library and Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS), allowing all county residents to have access to its rich scholarly and historic legal collection via their public library card.
Many legal research sources aren't available online, so the Law Library maintains various historic and other essential materials in print. This not only benefits those who prefer print, but lawyers and non-lawyers alike often find print a more accessible way to approach intimidating and complex areas of law.
Professional law librarians help non-lawyers understand and navigate the complicated legal system, and provide assistance to attorneys conducting legal research. They also track legal and other aid organizations that can offer advice for individual legal problems, and they regularly refer patrons to those agencies.
While celebrating the past, the Washington County Law Library is looking to the future and is committed to the "access to justice movement." This movement aims to ensure equal access to legal information and assistance, particularly to those who cannot afford lawyers. The Law Library's new five-year strategic plan calls for a volunteer "lawyers in the library" program, increased partnership with public library colleagues, and expanding services for self-represented litigants.
Media Contact:
Lee Van Duzer, Law Librarian503-846-8880
[email protected]