Great news! Our library has been awarded a generous grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to develop the Texas Legal Oasis Project. 

The project will create a free online training course for public librarians, giving them the tools and confidence to help community members find reliable legal information.

Librarians will learn how to:

• Point people toward trustworthy legal resources.
• Make referrals to the right organizations and professionals.
• Answer basic questions about common legal topics like divorce, landlord/tenant issues, and estate planning.
• Stay within the boundaries of their role (provide information, not legal advice).

Finding legal help in Texas can be tough, especially outside of major cities. The rural parts of the state are especially underserved. According to the American Bar Association’s 2020 Profile of the Legal Profession, nearly half of Texas's 254 counties (122 of them) are considered a "legal desert." It means there is less than one lawyer for every 1,000 residents. Only 30 counties have a law library open to the public.  

But here’s the good news: 232 counties do have a public library. That makes local libraries one of the most promising ways to connect Texans with legal information. We hope to develop them into a reliable source of support in communities that have little to no legal access.

In the words of Amy Small, Executive Director of the State Law Library: “Public libraries are a trusted, familiar institution, and often the first place people go with their questions. By training public librarians across the state in basic legal information skills, the Texas Legal Oasis Project will increase the ability and willingness of librarians to help with legal questions, and in doing so, increase availability of legal information statewide. We are very grateful to the Texas Bar Foundation for their support of this work.”

Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $30 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation's largest charitably-funded bar foundation.

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