We’re very excited to announce that NSRLP has been awarded $100,000 from the Law Foundation of Ontario’s Family Law Access to Justice Fund. We will partner with local public libraries to develop a pilot program to serve the needs of self-represented litigants. The Windsor Public Library (WPL) and the Essex County Public Library (ECPL) have both committed to partner with NSRLP to develop resources and programming to help family SRLs using their local public libraries.
A large portion of the funding will go toward paying the salary of a Project Leader, who will educate librarians on issues related to the SRL phenomenon, and provide training to enable them to better serve family litigants who use the library. Together, NSRLP and library staff will develop new materials for family SRLs, such as glossaries of legal terms, lists of local affordable legal options, etc. At the same time, public educational programming will be developed – for example, legal information seminars, Q&A sessions with local lawyers, forms clinics, etc. Where appropriate, some library branches will feature spaces specifically reserved for SRLs to come and work, using library resources such as computers, printers, scanners and photocopiers.
A portion of the funding will go toward promotion and advertising, so that local SRLs are made aware of the resources available at their public libraries.
As the SRL crisis is first and foremost an access issue, nothing seems more appropriate than partnering with public libraries, whose mission it is to provide access to information. WPL and ECPL staff frequently see patrons seeking legal information, and both library systems are excited about this opportunity to provide assistance and resources to this underserved population.
This project will begin in July of 2018, and will run for two years. Dayna Cornwall, our current Project Coordinator, will move into the Project Leader role for this project three days a week – Dayna has a background in information sciences and is a former public librarian – and we shall be hiring a new part-time Project Coordinator to help fill in that role.
Our long-term goal is to develop a new role for public libraries, supported by librarian training materials, SRL resources, and best practices learned from the pilot in order to replicate the program at public libraries across the country.
We wish to sincerely thank the Law Foundation of Ontario for their generous support of this project.
Stay tuned to the NSRLP website for more information as the project develops!
Wish they would do this in bc as well