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Support the Law Library

Issues Facing County Law Libraries

As pertaining to ORS 9.815, every county in Oregon is required to operate a law library or provide law library services.

 

 However, county law libraries have experienced extreme budget shortfalls within the last few years. 

 

This has caused state-wide struggles of upkeeping staffing, services, and legal resources for our community members. Especially with the increasing numbers of self-represented litigants and a widening access to justice gap in the United States, adequate funding for law library services are more important than ever.

Support the Law Library

If you would like to support the Lane County Law Library, the best thing you can do is to contact your legislator and representatives and share your story and support of the library.

 

 If you don’t know who your representatives are, click here for an online tool.

 

 We do the best with what we have, but if you want improved staffing and resources, your support can help us improve our services!

 

 Goals of the future with increased funding: increased staffing, streamlined and card-payment printing, Spanish-language facilitator services, lawyer in the library programs, and more!

 

Lane County Law Library Patron Survey

 

If you would like to provide feedback or share your story with us on how the library has helped you, filling out the survey below greatly helps us highlight what is needed and share our community impact.

You can also click here to open it in another window. 

 

Support Quicklinks:

Support FAQs:

What is ORS 9.815?

The Oregon Revised Statutes are the statewide law of Oregon. ORS 9.815 refers to the mandatory county responsibility of providing law libraries. Click here to read the statute.

Do You Have a Sample Letter to a Representative?

Here is a very general sample letter to a representative:

[Today's Date]

Dear [Your Representative],

My name is [first and last name] and I am a [constituent/community member/family member/ etc.] who resides in your district. I am writing to you in support of county law libraries and to share my story of how they impacted [you or your community].

[Share your story of your experience in the law library, stating the name of the law library and any specific person, if you can remember, that may have helped you. Explain why law libraries/law library services in your area are important to you and/or your community. If you have any relation or experience with the representative (including voting or contributing to their campaign), share that story as well].

General example: I did not have enough time to hire a lawyer for my upcoming legal case. When I went to the Lane County Law Library, the librarian helped me find resources and sample forms in order for me to write up my answer within the necessary time. Without those resources, I would have been unable to respond to the case. I am not the only person in your district who needs access to law library services. 

As one of your voters and your constituent I hope you support county law libraries in the future.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code

NOTE: This is example language and designed as a guide, not a final draft.

Why is There No Staff in the Library When I Need it?

According to a 2021 survey of Oregon county law libraries, "only six county law libraries and the Multnomah Legal Resource Center (MLRC) have one or more full-time equivalent staff. Thirteen county law libraries and the MLRC have professional staff or both professional and non-professional staff. One county law library listed no staff."

 

Staffing issues concern us as much as they do you! It is a state-wide struggle to keep staffing adequate. If we were not in at the time of your arrival, please leave us a note, voicemail at (541) 682-4337, or email us at [email protected]

Can I Volunteer with the Law Library?

If you are a lawyer that is looking for CLE/pro bono credit and would like to volunteer time for a lawyer in the library program, please feel free to contact us at (541) 682-4337 or [email protected].