Model Trial Court/County Law Library Code
Draft #4

September 1, 2001

Chapter ____

Law Libraries

Section 1. System of Law Libraries

1. There shall be a system of law libraries within the state to provide access to legal information to all users of the trial courts and to the general public.
2. The system of law libraries shall be under the supervision of the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors.
3. Law libraries shall be established in every jurisdiction where sessions of court are required to be held by law.
4. The law libraries shall be located in the same building where sessions of court are held or within close proximity. Space for the law libraries shall be provided in the same manner in which courtroom space is allocated and maintained. The space occupied by the law libraries shall meet the standards and guidelines established by the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors.
5. The law libraries shall be open to the public.
6. The law libraries shall be arranged in a tier system according to the extent of potential use (or population served.) The tiers shall be designated by the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors. The Board shall establish guidelines for the resources and services of each tier in accordance with the Court and County Law Library Standards approved by the American Association of Law Libraries. The guidelines shall be published in ______________.

Section 2. Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors

1. There shall be a Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors, consisting of nine voting members, three of whom must be members of the judiciary, three of whom must be attorneys actively engaged in the practice of law in this state and three of whom must be members of the public. The members of the Board shall be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for a term commencing on the date of their appointment and expiring three years after the July 1^st following their appointment.
2. The Chief Justice shall designate from among the members of the Board a chairperson and a vice chairperson who shall act in the absence of the chairperson, each for terms of one year, commencing July 1.
3. The State Law Librarian and the State Court Administrator shall be ex-officio non-voting members.
4. A quorum shall consist of five of the voting members.
5. The Board shall meet at least once a year.
6. The Board shall govern the law library system. It shall formulate policy and exercise control and may delegate administrative policy.

Section 3. Management of funds

1. The law library system shall be funded as a part of the trial court system’s budget.
2. All funds provided in the statutes (appropriated by the legislature) for the use and benefit of any and all existing county law libraries in the state organized pursuant to ___________ after _____ must be paid to the State Court Administrator (State Law Library or State Library) and must be disbursed by that office under the direction of the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors for personnel, the purchase of legal resources and equipment, and administrative costs, including travel. The Board shall negotiate statewide contracts wherever appropriate for both print and electronic resources for all law libraries. The Board shall allocate a specific amount of any revenues (appropriation) for each tier, and each library within a specific tier must receive an equal share of that amount.

Section 4. Personnel

1. The State Court Administrator (or State Law Librarian or State Librarian) shall employ, subject to the approval of the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors, and shall supervise, a professionally trained law librarian, who shall be designated the Trial Court Law Library Coordinator. The Coordinator shall have general supervision of the professional functions of all law libraries in the system, visit the law libraries as needed, meet with local law library committees, coordinate activities with the court administrators’ offices, and carry out additional duties assigned by the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors.
2. Law libraries shall be staffed in accordance with the guidelines established by the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors.
3. Libraries in locations without staff shall be maintained by the office of the court administrator of the county (district). The duties of each clerk’s office shall be specified by the State Court Administrator, subject to the approval of the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors.

 Section 5. Local law library committees

1. A local bar association may establish a law library committee, of not less than three nor more than seven members, in any jurisdiction in which a law library is located. The members of the committee shall be appointed or elected by the local bar association, as its bylaws may provide. Membership on the committee need not be restricted to attorneys.
2. Each local law library committee shall elect one of its members chair and another member secretary/treasurer.
3. All members of the committee shall hold office for a term to be set in the bylaws.
4. In jurisdictions where library staff is provided under the guidelines established by the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors, the supervising librarian shall be an ex officio member of the local law library committee.
5. The local law library committee shall establish local operating policies, such as, but not limited to, hours, circulation policies, and fees for specific services. The committee may seek private and local government funding to supplement the law library’s state appropriation. Each committee shall exercise supervision over the expenditure of private and local funds, including endowments, and may use those funds for the benefit of its law library. The receipt of private and local government funding shall not reduce the state appropriation the law library is accorded under the tier structure established by the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors.
6. The secretary/treasurer of each local law library committee shall apply all private and local government moneys received by the library at the direction of the local law library committee.
7. The secretary/treasurer shall annually file with the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors a statement of the funds received and expended by the local law library committee during the preceding fiscal year.

Section 6. Housing of law libraries within public libraries

1. Upon approval of the Trial Court Law Library Board of Directors, a trial court administrator may contract with a public library that is in close proximity to the trial court to house the trial court law library collection, furniture, and equipment, and to provide services to users.
2. The funds allocated to the law library must be used in accordance with Section 3. The director of the public library shall annually file with the Trail Court Law Library Advisory Board a statement of the funds received and expended for the law library housed within the public library.