Massachusetts Courthouse, including Trial Court Law Libraries and Court Service Centers, as well as the Social Law Library, are closed to the public due to COVID-19.
MBLC has partnered with the Social Law Library, the Massachusetts Trial Courts, including the Trial Court Law Libraries and Court Service Centers, to provide legal reference continuing education to librarians. This partnership has also drawn on help from the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.
Our goal is to provide public librarians with the tools they need to help patrons find legal assistance, prepare themselves for court appearances, including completing court forms, locate legal reference materials in print and online, and understand the availability of lawyer referral services..
If you need to find out your password, please contact answers@mblc.state.ma.us and provide your name, position and library affiliation.
There are currently no webinars scheduled. Please check back later in the summer. Webinars are also advertised on the allregions@mblc.state.ma.us and pubdir-announce@mblc.state.ma.us (public library directors) mailing lists.
(Updated 6/15/21)
In addition to the Massachusetts webinars, you also have access to a parallel set of trainings through WebJunction. WebJunction has partnered with the nonprofit Legal Services Corporation with a series of trainings and webinars. A May 27 post in OCLC's research blog Hanging Together extensively documents some of the lessons learned to date.
Domestic violence remains a major area of concern in Massachusetts. This program begins with an overview by Jamie Subino of two of the primary tools available: the Domestic Violence Restraining Order (209A) and the Harassment Prevention Order (258E). She then discusses options for ending a lease early or holding onto public housing when experience a domestic violence situation. Jamie is the Lead Advocate, Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Project and the Co-manager, Civil Legal Aid for Victims of Crime Initiative (CLAVC), Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI).
Rochelle Hahn, Co-Director, Massachusetts Legal Aid Websites Project, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, follows with a demonstration of several critical websites to help users find local advocates, help with legal forms and legal aid related to domestic violence issues. These include Mass Legal Help, the Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder, CLAVC (Civil Legal Aid for Victims of Crime), MassAccess (a guided interview that helps survivors prepare paperwork for a 209A restraining order) and Mass Legal Answers Online.
This webinar trains public librarians how to access the wide variety of resources and services of the new COVID Eviction Legal Help Project (CELHP). CELHP is a major statewide initiative to help keep low income tenants safely in their homes and to support low income landlords at risk of foreclosure, bankruptcy, or having to evict their tenants after the Commonwealth’s pause of evictions and foreclosures last October. The program is part of the Baker-Polito Administration’s statewide Eviction Diversion Initiative to support tenants and landlords facing financial challenges caused by the pandemic. Delivery of CELHP services throughout the Commonwealth is a collaborative effort of Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, the Volunteer Lawyers Project and six regional legal aid organizations.
Presenters: Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court
Even with the myriad challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, both the statewide Law Libraries and the Court Service Centers of the Massachusetts Trial Courts are busy providing assistance to local attorneys, self-represented litigants and the courts serving your community. The same services are also available to both public librarians and members of the public throughout the Commonwealth—even in the midst of the pandemic.
Do these patron questions and comments sound familiar?
Kathy Ludwig and Mary Klaes and their colleagues throughout the state provide help and assistance with these types of legal issues every day.
Recorded 02.10.21
Attorneys Rochelle Hahn, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, provides an overview of key legal-help websites when assisting patrons presenting landlord-tenant problems. Attorney Gordon Shaw, Community Legal Aid, then walks through specific scenarios, such as eviction notices, bad housing conditions, and rent increases, showing how these web resource can guide patrons to the specific information and legal help resources based on geography, income levels and other factors.
Recorded 12.02.20
This website, and other programs of the MBLC, is funded in part with funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership, and a lifetime of learning.