AskNow's Law Librarian Service

California's Metropolitan Cooperative Library System and the Council of California County Law Librarians - 040043

Abstract Number: 040043

June 2004

California's Metropolitan Cooperative Library System and the Council of California County Law Librarians launched AskNow's Law Librarian Service to enable self-represented litigants to submit questions online to law librarians to help visitors locate legal information through AskNow's interactive chat software. Self-represented litigants can access AskNow's services through webpages of participating county law libraries, local court websites, Lawhelpcalifornia.org and the Judicial Council of California's Self-Help Center and then log onto to submit their question to a law librarian. AskNow was originally created to respond to general query's submitted to librarians from the public but subsequently a law component was added to AskNow's services in April 2002.

The partnership with the Administrative Office of the Courts occurred early on when the program's URL was linked on the self-help website. It took off in January 2, 2003 when an "Ask the Law Librarian" icon was moved up to the navigation bar of every self-help webpage. At the February 2004 "National Conference on Community Based Access to Justice - Volunteers, Partnerships and Technology" sponsored by California's Administrative Office of the Courts and the State Bar, law librarians made more connections with other legal services providers. This conference brought together people who sought to improve and expand access to legal services through the use of partnerships, volunteers, and technology. During this conference, legal services and court personnel made contact with county law librarians who have been offering the AskNow Law Librarian service to the public. Participants sought to link the AskNow Law Librarian service with the websites that provide legal information to self-represented litigants residing in California or parties to an action filed in a California court.

Live assistance is available through the AskNow service, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. If a user submits a legal question to a public librarian at a time when the law librarian is unavailable or when the law librarians are extremely busy, the transcript from the caller will be sent to a joint email box where the question will generally be answered within one business day of being submitted. AskNow's law librarian staff generally needs to conduct a brief interview to identify the information the visitor is attempting to locate as it is common for users to submit questions that are seeking legal advice as opposed to answering factual questions in an online environment. The brief interview enables the law librarian to locate documents pertinent to the visitor's query thereby providing the visitor with information that allows the individual to make an informed decision regarding their legal problem. When assisting the visitor, the chat software enables the law librarian to guide the visitors' web browser to pertinent online resources, and depending on their problem or need, the law librarian encourages them to visit a public law library in person or contact a legal services office for additional assistance. AskNow staff estimates that each online chat visitor receives approximately 22 minutes of assistance. At the end of a session, a transcript of the session is emailed to the visitor to assist in following up on the resources discussed and identified during the session.

AskNow's staff handles an extraordinary number of questions. In May of 2004 alone, Ask Now staff handled over 1300 questions. The Ask Now Law Librarian service responds to a variety of questions which include queries related to establishing a small business, housing law, and family law issues. To learn more, visit: http://www.247ref.org/portal/access_law3.cfm.

Contact Information:

Diane Reynolds
Ask Now Coordinator
Los Angeles County Law Library
301 West First Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
Phone: (213) 629-3531
Email

Sarah Sabasteanski
Ask Now Coordinator
Los Angeles County Law Library
301 West First Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
Phone: (213) 629-3531
Email

Ralph Stahlberg
Ask Now Coordinator
Los Angeles County Law Library
301 West First Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
Phone: (213) 629-3531
Email

Additional Information:

• Ask Now's Main Homepage

• Ask Now's Law Librarian Homepage

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