Law Librarians and the Self-Represented Litigant

Despite the availability of legal information on the Internet and the ubiquity of legal self-help books, self-represented litigants seek out the services and expertise of law librarians. Many SRLs are intelligent, self-reliant people who because of varying circumstances choose to represent themselves rather than hire an attorney. Law librarians should recognize that while they are the best equipped to facilitate the SRL's access to legal information, they must not act as the SRL's attorney. Librarians must educate not only the SRLs but themselves about boundaries of service, unrealistic expectations, and difficulties of legal research. Through teaching classes, creating educational materials, and taking advantage of technology to disseminate these classes and materials, law librarians will play a vital role in helping the public user search, navigate, and use the overwhelming amount of legal information available. By taking the pro-active approach to SRLs and seeing them in a positive light, law librarians will no longer see the SRLs as invaders from Mars but as representatives of the American ideal of democratic access to the legal system.