State Law Library and Harris County Law Library Launch Partnership to Expand Digital Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 29, 2020

Today, the Texas State Law Library and Harris County Law Library announced a new partnership to expand digital services for all Texans. Beginning on Law Day, May 1, 2020, law librarians from both institutions will work together to offer expanded chat services in English and Spanish Monday through Friday. Anyone who needs assistance with legal research can contact a law librarian through either libraries’ website to access expansive collections of digital resources.

“We are excited to expand access to legal information with our partners at the State Law Library,” Harris County Law Library Director Mariann Sears said. “Each library has unique resources to support self-represented litigants, attorneys, and the judiciary. Through this partnership, we can make more of those resources available to help ensure continued access to justice as we stay home and work safe.”

Following guidance from the Supreme Court of Texas and public health officials, both law libraries suspended in-person services in March and expanded virtual services to support remote work by attorneys, judges, and self-represented litigants. Expansion of real-time chat services will further assist the legal community to work remotely following the Supreme Court’s extension of its emergency order through June 1, 2020, allowing Texas courts to postpone hearings and encourage remote participation in proceedings.

“This partnership is a great opportunity for the State Law Library to serve more Texans, especially in Harris County,” Texas State Law Library Assistant Director Amy Small said. “With a third of the Texas legal community and the state’s busiest courts, the Houston metro area has the most potential users of the State Law Library’s expansive digital collections. Working with law librarians at the Harris County Law Library and drawing on their expertise will help us connect more Texans with needed legal resources.”

The new partnership will serve as a pilot program with the goal of expanding opportunities for collaboration between Texas’s network of public law libraries. Law libraries that are interested in participating are encouraged to contact the State Law Library.

About Chat References Services

Law librarians at the Texas State Law Library and Harris County Law Library will offer real-time reference services in English, Spanish, and Farsi, Monday through Friday, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., beginning on Friday, May 1, 2020. Visit either library website to access the chat interface and to learn more about digital services.

About the Texas State Law Library

The Texas State Law Library is a public law library that serves the legal research needs of the Texas Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Office of the Attorney General, other state agencies and commissions, and the citizens of the state. Located in Austin, Texas, the State Law Library offers services and digital collections to all Texans through its website at https://www.sll.texas.gov.

About the Harris County Law Library

The Harris County Law Library opened in 1915 and has continued to serve Harris County’s legal information needs for more than a century. After joining the Office of Vince Ryan, Harris County Attorney, in 2011, the Law Library greatly expanded its technology offerings and services to the public. Today, the Law Library receives more than 60,000 visitors each year, 90% of whom are not lawyers. To learn more about services and digital collections, visit the Harris County Law Library Virtual Reference Desk at https://www.harriscountylawlibrary.org.

Free Access to Lexis (and more!) to Help You #StayHomeWorkSafe

As we all #StayHomeWorkSafe here in Harris County through April 30, access to legal research databases that are typically available at the Law Library may be hard to find. That’s why our law librarians are constantly working with our vendors to make more information available to you remotely during this difficult time. While you’re doing all you can to help stop the spread of COVID-19, we’re still here to help… virtually, of course.

Free Access to Lexis Advance

Access to professional legal resources, like LexisNexis, is essential for legal researchers. Tools like citators, headnotes, and annotations that help researchers determine if a case or statute is still “good law” are copyrighted and only available through expensive database subscriptions (learn more with our on-demand video training Blending Your Legal Research). That’s why free access to Lexis Advance is such a big deal and why we’re very pleased to announce that Harris County Law Library patrons can now sign up for a free 30-day account. Visit the registration page to sign up for your free account now.

Document Delivery from the Law Library’s Legal Research Databases

Even with free access to standard tools from Lexis at your disposal, not every copyrighted practice guide, form book, and treatise is available to you. Under normal circumstances, everyone has access to robust subscriptions from Lexis eBooks, Westlaw, Lexis Advance, HeinOnline, State Bar of Texas Practice Manuals, and more within steps of the courthouse on the Law Library’s research computers. To help maintain access while we’re all working remotely, our law librarians can make many of these materials available to you via email through our Virtual Reference Desk. If you need a document, let us know and one of our law librarians will provide it to you via email (subject to limitations set by the vendor) as soon as possible.

Additional Options to Stay Connected

More free access to legal research databases to keep you working while we #FlattenTheCurve:

• The Texas State Law Library offers access to several databases to all Texans through its website. If you are in Texas, you can sign up for a free account and learn more about accessing Lexis eBooks, Fastcase, HeinOnline, and more at https://guides.sll.texas.gov/electronic-databases/remote.

• Casetext is offering free access to its AI-powered legal research platform through April 23 for attorneys who are unable to access their usual research resources. More details at https://casetext.com/covid-access/.

• Texas Bar Books is offering free access to the Texas Guardianship Manual Online through May 31. The Manual includes a wide range of power of attorney and advance directive documents that many attorneys will find useful while assisting clients during the current public health concerns.

• New Emergency Procedure Forms from the Texas Family Law Practice Manual are now available for free online. The new forms help attorneys and litigants request modification of deadlines, leave to appear remotely, and other procedures in family courts during times of public emergency.

• Visit the Harris County Law Library’s Online Legal Research Tools page to learn more about free access to digital legal materials at your fingertips!

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Blending Your Research Resources

Learn more about incorporating free online resources into your legal research routine with the Law Library’s one-hour, on-demand CLE video titled “Blending Your Legal Research” Stream it now on our Legal Tech Institute Learn On-Demand page.

Harris County Law Library Suspends “In-Person” services and expands Virtual Services in response to Coronavirus emergency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Harris County Law Library will expand virtual, remote services and temporarily suspend in-person services and public events for two weeks beginning Monday, March 16.  

The Law Library is a public law library that serves the legal information needs of self-represented litigants, legal professionals, and the judiciary. It receives more than 60,000 visitors each year, 90 percent of whom are not lawyers.

“This action is being taken in response to the emergency public health declarations of Harris County, the City of Houston, and state and national authorities,” said Law Library Director Mariann Sears. “The health and safety of our patrons and staff is our highest priority.”

To continue serving its patrons, law librarians will offer many library services remotely as part of a “COVID-19 Flatten the Curve Action Plan.” These include:

·         Telephone Reference: Call 713-755-5183 to speak with a law librarian Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Law librarians can assist patrons with finding accurate, current, authoritative online legal resources and guide patrons to sources of court and government information. As call volume increases, patrons may leave a voicemail to receive a call back from a law librarian.

·         Email: Send reference questions to lawlibrary@cao.hctx.net to receive assistance from a law librarian with online legal resources. To the extent possible, law librarians will also scan and send documents from print resources located at the Law Library and we will work with vendors to increase the number of documents available for scanning under current licensing agreements.

·         Enhanced Website Services: Visit www.harriscountylawlibrary.org to view online content from the Law Library. While in-person services are suspended, law librarians will add additional content to the website, including guides to government resources online and video content to assist self-represented litigants, students, and attorneys.

·         Video Conferencing Services: As soon as possible, the Law Library will offer patrons the ability to request a video conferencing session with a law librarian.

·         Video Content in Support of Distance Learning: The Law Library offers more than a dozen education videos concerning legal technology and legal research that will be offered to area academic institutions currently transitioning to distance learning.

On March 13, the Texas Supreme Court issued a “First Emergency Order Regarding the COVID-19 State of Disaster” and ordered courts to extend deadlines and suspend in-person proceedings as much as possible. The Harris County Family Courts have suspended many dockets frequently used by self-represented litigants, including uncontested dockets, through the end of the month.

“The decision to suspend in-person services is not an easy one,” Sears said. “More than 250 people per day visit the Law Library from all corners of Harris County to find the legal information they need to access our court system. The Texas Supreme Court’s order extending court deadlines lessens the immediate need for in-person law library services and the emergency declarations make clear public health is our number one priority.”

The public health situation regarding COVID-19 is fluid and new information is emerging daily. Law Library leadership working in conjunction with the Office of Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan will monitor the situation and reassess the need to suspend in-person services each Thursday. Information concerning changes in service will be communicated on our website at www.harriscountylawlibrary.org.

Presently, there is no indication of COVID-19 at the Law Library and all measures taken are preventative. The library is encouraging everyone to undertake personal preventative measures to help slow the spread of the virus as suggested by Harris County Public Health, including regular hand washing, disinfecting surfaces frequently, avoiding contact with sick people and large gatherings, and staying home if you are sick.

“I fully support the actions being taken by the Law Library’s staff to keep our patrons safe during this time of caution,” said County Attorney Vince Ryan. “The health of Harris County residents is our top priority.”

About the Harris County Law Library

The Harris County Law Library opened in 1915 and has continued to serve Harris County’s legal information needs for more than a century. After joining the Office of Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan in 2011, the Law Library greatly expanded its technology offerings and services to the public. Today, the Law Library receives more than 60,000 visitors each year, 90 percent of whom are not lawyers. Ryan’s support for the revitalization of the Law Library was recognized by the American Association of Law Libraries in 2016 when he was named the Law Library Advocate of the Year. The Law Library is located at 1019 Congress Street, 1st Floor, Houston, Texas. Visit www.harriscountylawlibrary.org for more information.

Federal Practice Resources Month

March is Federal Practice Resources Month at the Harris County Law Library. Throughout the month, federal practice legal resources will be on display, including the titles listed below. Additional resources can be found via our online catalog and in the FEDERAL SECTION of the library.

• Federal Procedure : A Problem-Solving Textual Analysis of Federal Judicial and Administrative Procedure

• Federal Procedure Forms : Federal Courts and Administrative Agencies

• O'Connor's Federal Civil Forms

• O'Connor's Federal Rules, Civil Trials : Practice Guide and Annotated Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

• Bender's Federal Practice Forms by Louis R. Frumer

• Moore's Federal Practice and Procedure by James William Moore

• Federal Practice and Procedure by Charles Alan Wright

For a wealth of additional digital sources, visit the Texas State Law Library. When you register for a library card online, you will have access to a number of e-books that address various areas of federal practice and procedure. Just a few of the titles available for online checkout are:

• Appellate Practice in Federal State Courts

• Federal Appellate Practice and Procedure in a Nutshell

• Federal Standards of Review

• Pretrial Litigation in a Nutshell

• Section 1983 Litigation Forms

19th Amendment Centennial and Women's History Month

Happy Women’s History Month! This year, the commemoration takes on added significance as we mark the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. To celebrate 100 years of votes for women, the Harris County Law Library will host events focused on women’s suffrage and women in law and government.

Votes for Texas Women, the exhibition: March 17 - April 3, 2020

“100 Years after the 19th Amendment: Their Legacy, and Our Future”

a traveling exhibit from the American Bar Association and Law Library of Congress

Visit the Harris County Law Library beginning March 17 to view the traveling exhibit from the American Bar Association and Law Library of Congress about the progress of suffrage in the last 100 years. The Law Library is the only institution in the Texas Gulf Coast Region slated to host the exhibit and we are proud to make it available to all through April 3, 2020. 

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The Law Library will also display an exhibit featuring artifacts from our archives, including an original 1920 printing of the 19th Amendment, to provide insight into the journey of women’s suffrage from the signs of suffragettes through the Texas and U.S. Constitutions and Supreme Courts.

Register to Vote!

All eligible exhibit goers will have a chance to register to vote at the end of the exhibit. As a voter registration agency under Chapter 20 of the Texas Election Code, the Law Library will offer voter registration cards and accept completed applications.

Learn more on our 19th Amendment Centennial page.

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19th Amendment Centennial Symposium: April 2, 2020

Registration is now open for the Law Library’s 19th Amendment Centennial Symposium. Join us on the 103rd anniversary of the day Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to serve in the U.S House of Representatives, was sworn in at the Capitol as Mariann Sears, the first woman to serve as director of the Harris County Law Library, will welcome notable women from the legal community and government to discuss the importance of inclusion. The event is free and open to all, but registration is limited. Register today!

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Women’s History Month Exhibit and Digital Exhibit: March 1-31, 2020

Throughout the month, visitors to the Law Library can view an exhibit commemorating the achievements of Camille Elizabeth Stanford Openshaw, the first woman to serve on the board of directors for the Harris County Law Library. Visit the digital exhibit to learn more about Ms. Openshaw.