The Library Development and Networking Division of the Texas State Library reports on the introduction of virtual court kiosks in county law libraries offering “a secure, private space where patrons can connect to legal resources and even attend virtual court hearings.”
“At the Harris County Law Library, Law Librarian Rod Hall shared during a recent TLA Tech Chat webinar how their network of six sound-dampening kiosks, nicknamed “LawPods,” are helping thousands of self-represented litigants. With nearly 25,000 self-represented family court cases filed annually in Harris County alone, the need is significant. “Access to justice is a big issue,” Hall said. “The LawPods give people a place to Zoom into court, connect with a law librarian, and access our legal subscriptions, without the commute or courthouse stress.””
A great pipeline of legal information for the public. I am not dismissing the information nor what is being done for access to justice. But I wonder how much of it is coming from legal practitioners with expertise in their niche area of the law.
Imagine adding a library of insight and commentary from credible authorities — Texas lawyers with niche expertise who are already writing articles, blog posts, and email newsletters.
Aggregate the authoritative work, and it represents another source for the kiosks.
I am not envisioning the Texas State Library identifying the published work and aggregating it.
But the day is going to come when this insight is not only aggregated for state libraries as insight, but also available as citable secondary law.
The Internet has been a great place for the public seeking access to justice. What we haven’t done, though, is capture the insight of legal practitioners and make it accessible to people.