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    • Home
    • About
      • FOLA Executive
      • Law Associations
      • Ont. Courthouse Libraries
      • Member Rewards
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      • Contact Us
    • Issues & Submissions
      • OPEN CONSULTATIONS
      • Access to Justice
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      • Auto Insurance
      • Compliance Entity Regs
      • COURTS
      • Criminal Law
      • Dialogue on Licensing
      • Family Law Reforms
      • Legal Aid
      • LAW SOCIETY OF ONTARIO
      • MAG
      • MINISTRY OF FINANCE
      • Real Estate Law
      • Rules of Practice
    • News & Events
      • FOLA Plenary - SPRING 23
      • BENCHER ELECTIONS 2023
      • Lobby Day
      • FOLA Newsletters
      • Assn. & Other Events
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      • In the News
      • Past FOLA Plenaries
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      • Mental Health Resources
      • ONCA
      • Diversity
      • Financial Solutions Blog
      • Practice Resources
      • Professional Development
      • LegalTech Resources
      • Membership Resources
      • Law Students & Articling
      • Other Useful Links
Federation of Ontario Law Associations
  • Home
  • About
    • FOLA Executive
    • Law Associations
    • Ont. Courthouse Libraries
    • Member Rewards
    • Awards
    • Contact Us
  • Issues & Submissions
    • OPEN CONSULTATIONS
    • Access to Justice
    • Ads, Mktg, & Client Fees
    • Alt. Business Structures
    • Auto Insurance
    • Compliance Entity Regs
    • COURTS
    • Criminal Law
    • Dialogue on Licensing
    • Family Law Reforms
    • Legal Aid
    • LAW SOCIETY OF ONTARIO
    • MAG
    • MINISTRY OF FINANCE
    • Real Estate Law
    • Rules of Practice
  • News & Events
    • FOLA Plenary - SPRING 23
    • BENCHER ELECTIONS 2023
    • Lobby Day
    • FOLA Newsletters
    • Assn. & Other Events
    • Jobs
    • In the News
    • Past FOLA Plenaries
  • RESOURCES
    • Mental Health Resources
    • ONCA
    • Diversity
    • Financial Solutions Blog
    • Practice Resources
    • Professional Development
    • LegalTech Resources
    • Membership Resources
    • Law Students & Articling
    • Other Useful Links

LAW LIBRARY ACTION CENTRE

LEARN MORE

Ontario Courthouse Law Libraries

Please help us keep this up to date.  Email any changes to Kelly at kelly.lovell@fola.ca


Algoma District Law Library

Amanda Ward-Pereira, Law Librarian

444 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie 

1-866-840-2540 

algomalaw@shaw.ca


Brant Law Library

Chris Wyskiel, Library Technician

Brant County Courthouse, 70 Wellington Street, Brantford

1-866-759-2038

brantlawassoc@bellnet.ca

 @brantlawassn  


Bruce Law Library 

Laurie McDonald, Library Assistant

County Court House, 207 Cayley Street, P.O. Box 818, Walkerton 

1-866-486-4365

Bruce.law.assoc@gmail.com


County of Carleton Law Association Library

Ottawa Courthouse, Gordon F. Henderson Library 

Jennifer Walker, Head Librarian

Brenda Lauritzen, Reference Librarian

Amanda Elliott, Library Technician

Ottawa Courthouse, Law Library, 161 Elgin Street, Room 2004, Ottawa

1-866-637-3888 x225

library@ccla-abcc.ca 

 @ccla_abcc  


Cochrane Law Library

Jenny Wong, Law Librarian

Court House, 48 Spruce Street North, P.O. Box 274, Timmins

1-705-267-3580    

info@cochranelawassociation.com


Dufferin County Law Library

Marilyn Elkin, Law Librarian 

51 Zina Street, Orangeville

1-866-862-9931

dufferinlawyers@hotmail.ca


Durham Region Law Library

Jennie Clarke & Lee Holstead, Law Librarians

Court House, 150 Bond Street East, Oshawa

1-866-742-4316 

drlalaw@bellnet.ca


Elgin Law Library

Alex Bradley, Law Librarian

4 Wellington Street, St. Thomas

1-866-545-6335

ela@bellnet.ca


Essex Law Library 

Doug Hewitt, Kemala Vranjes,  & Cathleen Croshawas, Law Librarians

245 Windsor Avenue, Windsor

1-866-815-1112 

essexlaw@mnsi.net


Frontenac Law Library 

Jackie Hassefras, Library Technician

Frontenac County Courthouse, 5 Court Street, Kingston

1-866-893-2010

library@cfla.on.ca

@frontenaclaw 


Grey County Law Library

Ronn Cheney, Library Technician

611 - 9th Avenue East, Owen Sound

1-866-578-5841

greylawlibrary@gmail.com 


Haldimand Law Library

Lena  Witzel, Library Assistant

55 Munsee Street North, P.O. Box 459, Cayuga,  N0A 1E0 

1-866-528-5779 

905-772-7114 

289-516-0110  (FAX)

haldimandlaw@rogers.com 


Halton Law Library

Karen Cooper, Law Librarian

1-866-838-5139

info@haltoncountylaw.ca

 @HaltonLawAssoc 


Hamilton Law Library Association 

1-866-213-6867  

Shega Berisha sberisha@hamiltonlaw.on.ca 

Wendy Spearing wspearing@hamiltonlaw.on.ca 

Nicole Strandholm nstrandholm@hamiltonlaw.on.ca 

45 Main Street East, Suite 500, Hamilton, L8N 2B7

@HLAlibrary  


Hastings & Prince Edward County Law Library

Judith Dale, Library & Information Technician

Quinte Consolidated Courthouse, Suite 2900 - 15 Bridge Street West, Belleville

1-866-544-3310

hcla@on.aibn.com

@HastingsCty_Law   


Huron Law Library

Barb Alcock, Library Assistant

Court House, 3rd Floor, One The Square, Goderich

1-866-266-3270

huronlaw@hurontel.on.ca 


Kenora Law Library 

Maria Berezowski, Library Technician

Court House, 216 Water Street,  Kenora

1-866-684-1164

lawlib@kmts.ca


Kent Law Library 

Karen Lauterbauch, Library Assistant

425 Grand Avenue West, Room 402, Chatham 

1-866-575-2529 

kentlaw@ciaccess.com


Lambton Law Library 

Michelle Gerrits, Library Manager 

700 Christina Street N. Suite 104, Sarnia 

1-866-203-5101

lambtonlaw@bellnet.ca 


Lanark Law Library

Liz Mitchell, Library Assistant

43 Drummond Street East, Perth 

1-866-593-0236

colla@bellnet.ca


Leeds & Grenville Law Library 

Lynda Cavanagh, Library Manager

County Court House, 41 Court House Square, Brockville

1-866-503-0574 

lawlibrary@bellnet.ca


Lennox & Addington Law Library

Carol Sirman, Library Assistant

97 Thomas Street East, Napanee 

1-866-603-6383

sirman@hotmail.ca

lalaw@kingston.net


Lincoln Law Library

Kelly Elliott, Library Technician

Ken McGowan Law Library, 59 Church Street, St. Catharines

1-866-637-6829

library@thelcla.ca 


Manitoulin Law Library 

James Weppler, Lawyer

jamesweppler@bellnet.ca

705-282-3354 (not toll-free)

  

Middlesex Law Association Library

Cynthia Simpson, Law Librarian

Shabira Tamachi, Library Technician

Tracy Fawdry, Executive Director

tracy@middlaw.on.ca

Court House, 80 Dundas Street, Ground Floor, Unit "N", London ON, N6A 6A1

Ph: 519-679-7046

Toll-free: 1-866-556-5570 

Fax: 519-672-5917

library@middlaw.on.ca


Muskoka Law Library

Patricia  Harris, Library Assistant

Court House, Law Library, 3 Dominion Street, Bracebridge

1-866-613-9217

musklaw@vianet.on.ca


Nipissing Law Library

Peter Klein and Zaffia Laplante, Librarians

Nipissing Law Library, 360 Plouffe Street, North Bay

1-866-899-6439

nipilaws@onlink.net


Norfolk Law Library

Lena Witzel, Library Assistant

50 Frederick Hobson VC Drive, Suite 502, Simcoe,  N3Y 0E4 

519-428-3690

1-866-648-8708 

norfolklaw@bellnet.ca


Northumberland Law Library 

Ciara Ward, Librarian

Court House, 860 William Street, Cobourg

1-866-214-8450

ncla@bellnet.ca

@NCountyLawAssn   


Oxford Law Library

Carolyne Alsop, Librarian

415 Hunter Street, P.O. Box  1678, Woodstock

1-866-750-5169

oxfordlaw@ocl.net

 

Parry Sound Law Library 

Patricia Harris, Library Assistant

District Court House, Law Library, 2nd Floor, 89 James Street, Parry Sound

1-866-456-6472

pslib@vianet.on.ca


Peel Law Library

Jo-Ann McQuillan, Executive Officer/Law Library Director

eo@plalawyers.ca 

A. Grenville & William Davis Courthouse, 7755 Hurontario Street, Suite 160, Brampton

1-866-228-0235 

library@plalawyers.ca    


Perth Law Library

Gena Lowe, Librarian

Court House, 1 Huron Street, Stratford

1-866-365-0218

perthlaw@on.aibn.com


Peterborough Law Association Library

Laura Dobbie, Librarian

Peterborough County Court House, Lois C. Davidson Law Library, 470 Water Street, Peterborough

1-866-556-8395

library@peterboroughlaw.org

@PTBOLawLibrary  


Prescott & Russell Law Library

Michelle Landriault, Library Assistant

1027 Queen Street, Box 540, L'Original 

1-613-675-2424

prescott.law@bellnet.ca


Rainy River Law Library

Margaret Katona, Library Assistant

District Court House, 333 Church Street, P.O. Box 276, Fort Frances

1-807-274-1609

library@rcla.on.ca


Renfrew County Law Library 

Sheri Proulx, Library Assistant

James W. Fraser Law Library 

297 Pembroke Street East, Suite 1211, Pembroke

1-866-705-8538 

rcla@bellnet.ca


Simcoe Law Library

Vacant

Court House, 4th Level, 75 Mulcaster Street, Barrie

1-866-692-6163 

library@scla.ca


Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Law Library

Vacant, Librarian

Court House Library, 29 Second Street West, Cornwall

1-866-830-9118 

librarian@sdgla.ca


Sudbury Law Library

Kelsi-Ann Weist, Library Technician

sdlaw@vianet.ca       

District Court House, 155 Elm Street West, Sudbury 

1-866-508-7655


Temiskaming Law Library

Melissa Judd, Library Assistant

Court House, 393 Main Street P.O. Box 3020, Haileybury

1-877-672-5655

705-672-5655 (not toll-free)

temk-law@ntl.sympatico.ca


Thunder Bay District Law Library

Take a special peek inside the T-Bay Courthouse, Law Library & Law Lounge! 

Helen Heerema, Library Technician

Courthouse, 2nd Floor, 125 Brodie Street North, Thunder Bay

1-866-684-1186

library@tbla.ca

@thunderbaylaw
 

Toronto Lawyers Association Courthouse Library

Joan Rataic-Lang, Executive Director/Library Director

361 University Ave., Toronto

647-247-4782 ext 222 

1-866-258-8886

library@tlaonline.ca

@TLAvoice   


Victoria Haliburton Law Library 

Gabrielle Gignac, Library Assistant

Court House, 440 Kent Street West, Lindsay

1-866-895-6220

lindlaw@lindsaycomp.on.ca


Waterloo Region Law Library

Pia Williams

pwilliams@waterloolaw.org 

Milena Protich

milena.protich@leellp.com

85 Frederick Street, Kitchener

1-866-201-0168


Welland County Law Library

Mary-Jo Petsche, Executive Director 

R. Boak Burns Law Library, 102 East Main Street, Welland 

1-866-455-6489

wcla@execulink.com


Wellington Law Library

John Kerr, Library Technician

Court House, 74 Woolwich Street, Guelph

1-866-893-5220

lawlibwell@gmail.com

@WLALawyers   


York Region Law Library 

Betty Dykstra, Librarian

Newmarket Courthouse, 50 Eagle Street West, 3rd Floor, Newmarket

1-866-221-8864

bdykstra@yorklaw.ca

@yorkregionlaw  


RESOURCES & USELFUL LINKS

COURTHOUSE LIBRARY ACTION CENTRE

OCLA ACCESS POINT LATEST NEWSLETTER

D&O LIABILITY & PROPERTY INSURANCE DOCUMENTATION

LAW LIBRARY USE SURVEY

LiRN WEBSITE 

LiRN STRATEGIC PLAN

Simplify your Library safety protocols  

Renfrew County Law Library Access Policy 

The Great Library

CanLII - Canadian Legal Information Institute

Jurisource (French) 

InfoLocate (Search & location tool for resources held in the Great Library and the County & District Law Libraries) 


FOR UPDATES ON LIRN, CLICK HERE


NEW MOBIL PORTAL

The Ontario Courthouse Libraries Association (OCLA) is excited to roll-out their new mobile friendly and lawyer-centric portal to all County and District Law Libraries in Ontario. 


On the site, you'll find individual law library profiles highlighting services being offered. 


Features include:

•             Highly visible quick link icons to contact information, location-based mapping, weather, and Association websites.

•             Quick catalogue access to diverse resources, directly from the home page.

•             A persistent header with a drop-down menu for easy navigation by Association or city.

•             Information about hours, access, electronic resources, parking, robing rooms, lounge facilities, value added extras, and more.


Enhance your travel experience to another jurisdiction by visiting http://oclanet.com/webapp/


You can access a poster for your Library here (grey version) or here (maroon version).

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER!

COURTHOUSE LIBRARY ACTION CENTRE

CHECKLIST FOR HIRING LIBRARY STAFF

Are you looking to hire new staff to your Law Library  FOLA has prepared a handy Staffing Checklist for you. You can download that here.


Recording of the LIRN Fund Balance Recovery Info Session (Jan 2023)

Passcode: .4DwA80w 


NEW LiRN POLICIES & GUIDELINES


LiRN's 2022 Key Impacts Report 


LiRN 2023 BUDGET

In advance of the 2023 LSO Budget vote at Convocation, FOLA ran a Law Library Advocacy Campaign with our 47 Law Associations (information on that below).  And it was a HUGE success!


In October, at Convocation, 47 Benchers voted in favour of the LiRN Budget.  Zero Benchers voted against it and one abstained.  Thank you to all who participated.   Your hard work paid off!  Read the LSO Press Release about the Budget here.


In his introductory remarks, Sidney Troister, LSO Audit & Finance Chair, provided an overview of the LiRN Budget.  You can read his remarks about LiRN here. It's worth the read!


FOLA LAW LIBRARY ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN 2022

The Law Society of Ontario is currently planning their 2023 Budget.  It's critical that they allocate sufficient funding to ensure our Law Libraries are able to meet the needs of Ontario's lawyers.    


To help Benchers understand the importance of committing to sustainable funding, FOLA has prepared some resources to help you.  It is critical that the Benchers hear directly from lawyers across the province who can stress upon them just how critical our Law Libraries are to insuring professional competence and ongoing learning as well as providing space for networking and mental wellness.


LETTER WRITING

We encourage you to write the Benchers (either just those in your area or all of them).  To help, we have prepared some Talking Points which you can use in your letters.  You can also reference FOLA's letter to the Benchers urging them to support full and sustainable funding of Ontario’s courthouse law libraries when they vote on the Law Society’s budget at Convocation.


You can access Bencher emails by region or alphabetically.   And we have an infographic!


Please send copies of your letters to Katie at katie.robinette@fola.ca so we know you've taken a stand!


Want to see what others have written?  Click here!


BENCHER VISITS

Have all your local Benchers been to your local Courthouse Library?  If they have, have they been recently?  Benchers need to see first hand how valuable your local Courthouse Library is.  Extend an invitation for an in-person visit to your local Benchers before they vote on the Budget at Convocation (Friday. November 25, 2022).  If you are in the GTA, consider extending the invitation to all Toronto Benchers!  They really need to see our Courthouse Libraries in person!

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Concerned about the cuts to your local Courthouse library?  Contact your Regional and local Benchers to let them know how important your library, the library resources, and the activities that take place there are to you! Are you on social media?  We have some suggested messages and images ready for you to use!  Alternatively, you can create your own!  FOLA will share ALL your library-related posts!

CURATED POSTS LINK

IMAGES FOR YOU!


LIBRARY SERVICES & MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES POLICY HR POLICY AND GUIDELINES

At their September Board meeting, the LiRN Board deferred approval of the revised Library Services & Management Responsibilities Policy HR Policy and Guidelines document to its next meeting (date to be determined, likely in October). This will allow for additional time to associations who’d like to comment but were unable to respond within the original timeline. If you have comments or concerns on the revised document, please let FOLA know by emailing Katie at katie.robinette@fola.ca. 


LiRN Consultations - June 2022

 LiRN held consultations with stakeholders over their Library Services & Management Responsibilities Policy HR Policy and Guidelines document that provides details on Law Library work vs. Association work, Law Library staff roles/responsibilities, and definitions of core Law Library services. Of note was Appendix A: Additional Library Services and Association Services & Duties (found on page 10). These are essentially services that LiRN deems to be associated with Law Association work as opposed to Law Library work and thus, work that is not covered by the LiRN funding grant. 


On June 17th, FOLA held our Consultation meeting with LiRN and you can read a recap of our meeting here.  Following that meeting, FOLA sent a letter to LiRN outlining FOLA's comments regarding the division of responsibilities between Libraries and Associations.  You can read that letter here.


On July 12th, FOLA met with all LiRN Shareholders (the TLA, FOLA, and the LSO) to review and discuss this document  with LiRN.  We anticipate receiving a copy of a revised document in early August and will advise on next steps at that time.


LiRN’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan is grounded in four priorities:

· LiRN is focused on the needs of courthouse library users, both now and in the future

· LiRN supports libraries and librarians

· LiRN collaborates with others working to provide legal information and library service prioritizing trust and respect

· LiRN makes evidence-based decisions


LiRN’s Immediate plans:

· Negotiate a core suite of electronic resources available to all law libraries;

· Work with a Human Resources consultant to develop job descriptions and salary guidelines

· Conduct a “hardware refresh” by equipping law libraries with the necessary hardware to operate in 2022. 


LiRN BUDGET 2022 HIGHLIGHTS


Operating Budget

The operating grant LiRN's 2022 budget is $8,542,000 and is primarily attributable to:

• reinstatement of the 10% reduction implemented in the 2021 budget; 

• the provision of an additional 2% increase, and; 

• the inclusion of funding for LiRN staffing, which was funded from LiRN’s General Fund balance in 2021. 


Transitional Budget

LiRN has also received an additional $900,000 for the expansion of electronic resources available across the network, the related training of library staff to facilitate their ability to support users, and the necessary

investment in the information technology infrastructure required to support a shift to digital resources.


VIEW THE 2022 BUDGET HERE


LIRN UPDATES

As you know, FOLA has long been advocating for increased funding for our law libraries.  Following the 2021 Budget cuts, FOLA's advocacy kicked into high gear.  We called, emailed, and texted Benchers to impress upon them the importance of our Courthouse Law Libraries.  


Thank you!  Let's keep this going to ensure that Benchers continue to understand their role in ensuring ongoing competency within the profession. 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Concerned about the cuts to your local Courthouse library?  Contact your Regional and local Benchers to let them know how important your library, the library resources, and the activities that take place there are to you! Are you on social media?  We have some suggested messages and images ready for you to use!  Alternatively, you can create your own!  FOLA will share ALL your library-related posts!

CURATED POSTS LINK

IMAGES FOR YOU!


Over March 2021, FOLA conducted a Courthouse Library Use Survey and prepared a White Paper titled " County and District Law Libraries: Ensuring Competency in the Profession and Access to Justice".  Learn more and access the White Paper here.


LSO COMPETENCY TASK FORCE

At the LSO's June Convocation, the Competency Committee released their Report: "Renewing the Law Society’s Continuing Competence Framework".

  

OVERVIEW:  The work plan of the Task Force includes four phases: discovery, development, design, and implementation. The Task Force has completed the discovery phase and is currently in the development phase of its work. This has included the creation of a working definition of competence and the identification of themes and principles to inform the design and implementation phases.


CALL FOR COMMENT: On June 23, 2021, the Competence Task Force’s Report: Renewing the Law Society’s Continuing Competence Framework was included as an Information Item to Convocation. The Report details the Law Society’s mandate to regulate the competence of lawyers and paralegals and provides an overview of how competence regulation has evolved to keep pace with regulatory best practices. The Report also provides an overview of the Task Force’s work plan, a working definition of competence, and proposed themes and principles which may inform new approaches to competence programs and requirements.


Most importantly, the Report includes comments on the importance of LiRN and of providing supports to small/soles.


The LSO has issued a Call for Comment and are open to the suggestions and feedback of all interested parties.  You may respond to some or all of the questions within the Call for Comment  until Nov. 30, 2021.


The Report notes the following re: LiRN: 

“The competent provision of legal services requires access to legal information. There are two aspects to the Law Society’s legal information supports: the Great Library and the Legal Information and Resource Network (“LIRN”). Qualitative data gathered in 2015 as part of a needs assessment on library system use and future need indicated that library users attach tremendous value to legal information and library services.29 Legal information services play a key role in the development, maintenance and enhancement of licensee competence.”…“The second aspect of the Law Society’s legal information supports is LIRN. LIRN, formerly known as LibraryCo, is a not-for-profit corporation responsible for centrally managing and coordinating the county law library system, comprised of 48 law libraries across Ontario. LIRN’s mandate is ensuring that the Ontario county law library system’s services and programs meet the evolving needs of licensees and the public. LIRN is guided in its work by the principles established by its shareholders: the Law Society, the Federation of Ontario Law Associations and the Toronto Lawyers Association. LIRN is funded by the Law Society fees collected from lawyers. LIRN is responsible for managing these funds through allocating finances and resources to individual libraries.”


RE: Enhanced Support for Sole Practitioners, Small Firms and Individuals Transitioning to Independent Practice: 

“As sole practitioners and small firms provide the overwhelming majority of legal services to individuals, families, and very small businesses, these practices are crucial in providing access to justice and their viability should be a priority for the Law Society.”


SOCIAL MEDIA

Concerned about the cuts to your local Courthouse library?   Are you on social media?  We have some suggested messages and images ready for you to use!  Alternatively, you can create your own!  FOLA will share ALL your library-related posts!

CURATED POSTS LINK

IMAGES FOR YOU!


FOLA ADVOCACY WITH BENCHERS FOLLOWING THE LSO BUDGET CUTS

FOLA Letter

Joint FOLA/TLA Letter to LSO's Audit & Finance Committee

Joint FOLA/TLA Letter to LSO's Competence Task Force 

Northwest Region

Northeast Region

Central East Region

Central South Region

Central West Region

Eastern Region

Southwest Region


OTHER ASSOCIATION LETTERS

The Advocates’ Society


BACKGROUND


December 2020

As you may know, the Law Society has been working to reduce costs across the board.  As such, at their November Convocation, it was announced that LIRN would be receiving a 10% cut to their 2021 budget.


FOLA's position throughout this matter has been that the cost of maintaining a collection has not kept up with inflation nor the rising costs of materials. We have consistently pointed out that local Associations are using their own resources to meet the shortfalls which have arisen. Finally, we have pointed out that this is an issue effecting competence and that ensuring resources are available to all members should be a priority.


In an effort to avoid a significant reduction in funding, which has clearly been signaled by a group of benchers who are supportive of fee reductions, LIRN’s original budget proposal called for maintaining the current level of funding, with a view to developing a plan to maintain the quality of our collection but find efficiencies within the system including a more strategic approach to negotiating with legal publishers. 


However, to accommodate this 10% cut in funding, the LIRN Finance and Audit Committee and the full Board met several times to discuss how to reduce the budget in a way that did not disproportionately affect any of the libraries. Their decision was not made lightly. Ultimately, the LIRN Board decided to reduce grant amounts based on $50,000 incremental thresholds as follows:

• 0 to $50,000 – 2% 

• $50,000 to $100,000 – 4%

• $100,000 to $150,000 – 6%

• $150,000 to $200,000 – 8%

• $200,000 to $250,000 – 10%

• $250,000 to $300,000 ¬ 12% 

• Over $300,000 – 14%


FOLA understands that it will not be easy for your associations and the libraries to implement these reductions, and we will do our best to support you throughout this challenging process while continuing to advocate for greater levels of funding.


CCLA Statement on the Value of Law Libraries - Dec 2020


COVID-19 NOTICE FROM LIRN - MARCH 2020


CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF LIRN

LAW LBRARY TALKING POINTS

BENCHER CONTACT LIST (alphabetical)

BENCHER CONTACT LIST (regional)

IMAGES

LiRN POLICIES & GUIDELINES

NETWORK & FINANCE POLICIES

Role Description & Salary Matrixes

NETWORK & FINANCE POLICIES

NETWORK POLICIES


  • Core Library Services and Library Management Responsibilities Policy 
  • Additional Library Services and Responsibilities Policy
  • Network Library Staff Employment Guidelines 


FINANCE POLICY


Grant Administration Policy

LiRN’s HR Policies

Role Description & Salary Matrixes

NETWORK & FINANCE POLICIES

  • Workplace Harassment and Violence Policy
  • Diversity and Inclusion Policy
  • Conflict of Interest Board Policy 



ACCESS ALL LiRN POLICIES HERE

Role Description & Salary Matrixes

Role Description & Salary Matrixes

Role Description & Salary Matrixes

The Role Description Matrix was created after significant consultation with many stakeholders, including shareholders, law associations and library staff. The roles in your library may not precisely match these role descriptions. LiRN recommends reviewing the matrix to determine which role description best fits the job the library staff person is currently performing. 


The Salary Bands were created by an outside HR Consultant who reviewed the Role Description Matrix and developed the bands using research into library sector salaries, including salary bands published by other organizations. The consultant also considered geographic location and advised that these salary bands are applicable across the province with minimal variability between markets. 


Salaries are negotiated between the employer Law Association and employee. These two documents may assist in determining salaries. LiRN suggests that they be used together as follows: 

  • Review the job the library staff person is actually doing and determine which      role description fits best. 
  • Use that role description to locate the applicable salary band. 


Where the staff member falls within that band will depend on factors such as:

  • How well they fit into that role description – ie if they have a lot of elements of the lower position, they would fall lower in the range; if they have a lot of elements of a higher position, they would fall higher in that range.
  • Length of employment
  • Job performance
  • Number of direct and indirect reports
  • Additional factors deemed relevant by the negotiating parties 


If such a review indicates that a salary adjustment is in order, LiRN recommends including it in the Association’s budgeting process.

  

For clarity, Law Associations employ library staff. LiRN is not the employer.  Many Law Association employers already have in place well-functioning employment practices. The sample documents provided by LiRN are not mandatory and are not intended to replace such practices. They are intended to provide resources that may be of assistance in the Law Association’s role as employer.

ENSURING COMPETENCY IN THE PROFESSION & ACCESS TO JUSTICE

WHITE PAPER

During March 2021, FOLA surveyed our membership and conducted other research to help articulate the importance of our law libraries. Together with the Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA), we have prepared a White Paper titled “County and District Law Libraries: Ensuring Competency in the Profession and Access to Justice” which draws on our survey findings and other research.


DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE!


FOLA has shared our White Paper with Benchers and senior LSO staff and are following up with them to ensure they understand and appreciate the importance of our law library network is to our profession.

GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY

ASSOCIATION & INDIVIDUAL LETTERS TO BENCHERS

ASSOCIATION LETTERS

FOLA letter to Benchers

Hamilton Law Association 

Kenora District Law Association

Toronto Lawyers' Association


INDIVIDUAL LETTERS

Hamoody Hassan, Middlesex Law Association

Joanne G. Beasley, Middlesex Law Association

Ashley Gibson, Welland Law Association 

James Young, Welland & Lincoln Law Associations

Mervin Riddell, Elgin Law Association




IMAGES TO SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

    SUGGESTED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

    It is critical that Law Society Benchers and fellow lawyers understand and appreciate the enormous value Ontario's Courthouse libraries offer the practicing bar and their clients.  FOLA hopes you find the suggested social media posts helpful and thanks you in advance for sharing them on social media.  Don't forget to tag  @LawSocietyLSO (the Law Society)  @LIRN_Inc, @OCLALibraries, and  @Ont_Law_Assoc (FOLA) on all your tweets!  We'll retweet! 


    Looking for images, click here!


    As the world shifts, libraries are going to look different, but there will always be a need for them, especially as electronic resources increasingly require prohibitive fees for access. The legal community needs a library where they can access those resources.  @LawSocietyLSO @OCLALibraries  @Ont_Law_Assoc @LIRN_Inc 


    My Courthouse Library is absolutely essential for comprehensive research tools and thus essential to ensuring access to justice  @LawSocietyLSO @OCLALibraries @Ont_Law_Assoc  @LIRN_Inc 


    Courthouse libraries provide lawyers in rural and remote communities with colleagues that they would not otherwise have.  @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Courthouse libraries offer a one-stop-shop for key resources small firms and sole practicing lawyers cannot otherwise afford.  @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Courthouse librarians offer lawyers the ability to provide informed counsel and representations to the Court, especially for clients that cannot afford the costs of other legal research providers.  @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries  @LIRN_Inc 


    Our Courthouse Libraries provide for access to harder-to-find or niche resources, especially on issues that arise outside of main practice areas.  @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Courthouse Libraries provide access to resources that are prohibitively expensive for sole or small firm practitioners  @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc


    Courthouse Libraries are  Absolutely essential for comprehensive research tools and thus essential to ensuring access to justice @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc


    “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A Librarian can bring you back the right one” Neil Gaiman  @neilhimself @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc


    Our Courthouse Libraries provide access to librarians to help make research more efficient and effective.  @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Courthouse Libraries offer access to peers and senior counsel so that they can learn from each other, be collegial, and discuss cases – opportunities otherwise unavailable to sole practicing lawyers.  @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Our Courthouse Libraries provide a physical space for the private, practicing bar to facilitate mentorship and to support professional development. @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Increasingly, Courthouse library staff are counted upon to respond to research and legal information requests by unrepresented individuals. @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Courthouse libraries are a living breathing part of the practice of law in many jurisdictions. It is a haven; an office; a provider of therapy; a matchmaking centre for mentors; a conduit to the Courts and Judiciary; an ideation place; a technology learning centre; and a law learning centre.  @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries  @LIRN_Inc 


    The services, resources, and assistance from librarians through our Courthouse libraries can make the difference between being a good lawyer and a great lawyer. @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Your Courthouse Libraries help ensure that the public is served by legal professionals with high standards of learning and competence. @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Courthouse Libraries supports ongoing learning and development with a specific emphasis on the use and application of legal information, legal research, legal training and education, and social activities. @LawSocietyLSO  @Ont_Law_Assoc @OCLALibraries @LIRN_Inc 


    Want more?  Download this list!

    ARTICLES WORTH SHARING

    Where would you be without us? Librarian advocacy!

    What would lawyers working in Ontario or even our own law associations be without their Courthouse librarians? Do you know?  Courthouse libraries and their staff work to provide research and reference services, access to legal materials and databases that have prices which are out of the reach of solo and small firms, as well as facilitating continuing education programming, along with networking and mentorship opportunities. Lawyers Daily 


    Importance of access to legal information

    FOLA's 1st Vice Chair, Nathan Baker, in Lawyer's Daily.  Lawyers Daily


    EVOLUTION OF LIRN

    Ontario's Courthouse Law Libraries, or Practice Resource Centers, remain a fundamental issue of interest for FOLA and its members.  The preservation, improvement and sustainability of the system has been at the forefront of FOLA since before the inception of LibraryCo.    


    Timeline at a Glance

    1800-1827: Establishment of the Great Library and it’s collections

    1879: Committee formed to look at establishing “branch” libraries across province

    1883: Consolidated Municipal Act, 1883, 46 v. c. 18. ss. 465 and 469 requires cities and towns to provide space in the local courthouse for the local bar

    1980: County and District Law Presidents’ Association (CDLPA) established (now FOLA)

    1987: Ontario Courthouse Librarians’ Association established -Brian Land’s report received by the LSO

    1988: Book catalogues produced by the Law Society for county and district law libraries

    1994: The “Hennessey Report” on funding of County and District Law Libraries

    1995: The “Topp Report” on Funding of County and District Law Libraries

    1998: Establishment of the Working Group that became known as the Elliott Committee

    2001: LibraryCo established

    2004-2006: Integration Task Force founded and begins work

    2007: LibraryCo restructured

    2020:Formation of LiRN


    History: Before 2000

    In the 1990’s libraries existed in all of the County Courthouses across Ontario. They were owned and operated by the local associations.  They were funded, in large part and to varying degrees by the Law Society, who recognized that access to legal information was a critical part of assisting small town lawyers in serving their clientele and facilitating access to justice.


    LibraryCo – 1st Generation

    LibraryCo originally came about as the result of the efforts of the Law Society and FOLA to organize the County and District law libraries across the province, to establish a stable funding base for the libraries across the province, and to try and provide for some centralized administration and purchasing for the library system; while at the same time allowing the local County and District Law Associations to continue to manage the libraries and develop their collections in accordance with local needs. This came to be referred to as the “blended system”. LibraryCo was incorporated in 2001.


    The first Unanimous Shareholders Agreement called for a Board of Directors of 15.  The original Board of Directors included representatives of the Ontario Bar Association, the Ontario Courthouse Librarians Association, FOLA and the Law Society.


    In April of 2002, LibraryCo produced its first five-year business plan entitled “Outof the Box and Beyond the Walls”. The Great Library was notably absent from that business plan. It appeared that the Great Library and LibraryCo were to exist in parallel universes.


    As part of that business plan, LibraryCo embarked on a number of initiatives to organize and direct the County and District law libraries across the province.  Among the less controversial initiatives was the development of a tiered system of libraries with five regional libraries, fifteen area libraries, and twenty-eight local libraries; the establishment of a core collection list and an“essentials” collection list for the libraries at each level;  the establishment of salary bands and job descriptions for library staff; the provision of inter-library document delivery; the use of a uniform accounting package for each library through the Simply Accounting program.


    As part of the “tiered” system of libraries, LibraryCo initially proposed to “de-staff” a total of fifteen local law libraries and impose certain restrictions on staffing and budgets for the remaining local law associations. This was the first effort to have legal information provided to lawyers in smaller centers without the benefit of local staff. The plan to de-staff fifteen local libraries was abandoned after vigorous protest from FOLA.

    From FOLA’s perspective, LibraryCo also got itself in trouble early on when it started telling Associations how much to pay the library staff, started telling staff members what they did or did not have to do for the Associations, referring to the libraries as “LibraryCo libraries” and attempting to direct library staff on the management of the Law Association libraries without consulting the Law Associations.


    It further appeared that from the Law Society perspective, LibraryCo got itself in trouble with its financial reporting to the Law Society. It seemed that the Law Society was not particularly pleased at the time with the form of the financial reporting.


    At the time that those issues were coming to a head,LibraryCo had established the “Integration Task Force” to examining ways that LibraryCo and the Great Library could work more closely together.  It became very clear very quickly that there were fundamental governance issues with LibraryCo.


    LibraryCo – 2nd Generation

    LibraryCo had a major corporate overhaul in 2007 which resulted in the Board of Directors being reduced from 15 to 8 seats, a new unanimous Shareholder’s Agreement, the “USA”, between the Toronto Lawyers Association, FOLA, and the Law Society, and an Administrative Services Agreement under which the Law Society was contracted to provide most of the administrative and technical support which LibraryCo required.


    At that same time,LibraryCo and the GreatLibrary developed a new and closer working relationship. Also, commencing in 2004, the Great Library and the Toronto Lawyers Association library worked together to rationalize some of their collections and worked together towards a more coherent approach to providing library services to lawyers in the Toronto area. LibraryCo has existed basically in this form since that time.


    Issues from 2013 – today

    In 2013 the Law Society appointed a Legal Information and Support Services (LISS) committee, with members from the Law Society, FOLA, TLA, OBA and the Advocates Society, to review the current system to identify and provide advice on areas that need further review. A report of LISS was widely distributed in the fall of 2014 but was not acted upon by the Law Society.


    In 2015 the Law Society insisted that qualitative and quantitative data on library system use and future needs was required to inform the work of the Transition Committee and to satisfy the demands of Convocation for evidence-based policy making. While FOLA initially resisted this further study as a duplication of effort and time (given the LISS report), the consultant, Phase 5, was retained and a report was provided to the LibraryCo board and Transition Committee in the fall of 2016. The work of the Transition Committee was essentially put on hold during this time. 


    In the fall of 2016, the Audit & Finance Committee of the Law Society rejected the initial 2017 LibraryCo draft budget and, in particular, its request for a 2% budget increase on the premise that the LibraryCo Transition Committee had not made progress towards a viable reform plan. Following appeals by the LibraryCo board, the draft budget was approved, but the Law Society warned that future budgets would not be approved unless and until a viable reform plan was developed. 


    The LibraryCo board decided that the full Phase 5 report would not be released publicly. The Phase 5 report largely confirmed what FOLA already knew and believed about the system: 

    · the system is highly valued by those who use it; 

    · library staff are seen as the greatest asset in the system; 

    · the system is under-utilized and many lawyers do not fully appreciate or understand the breadth of services already available; 

    · investment is needed to introduce new services and meet the demands of lawyers into the future; 

    · opportunities for reform and revitalization exist in the system, but the report is largely silent on important matters of governance. 


    A high-level review of the Phase 5 report was presented at the 2016 November Plenary and FOLA passed a unanimous motion calling for the Law Society to reinstate a separate “Library Levy” on lawyers’ annual statements. 


    The Transition Committee met in November and December 2016 to consider the Phase 5 report and to begin to map out a plan. The December meeting was cut short and progress inexplicably stalled. FOLA wrote to the Law Society in December 2016 to express its frustration with the delays in the Transition Committee and the Law Society responded with an invitation to the other shareholders (FOLA and TLA) to attend a meeting where they would all “lay their cards on the table”. 


    FOLA and the TLA met with the Law Society on January 30, 2017, where the Law Society expressed its belief that LibraryCo is an “expensive and unnecessary corporate structure”. The Law Society once again determined that LibraryCo should be dissolved and the operations moved internally to the Law Society. 


    Following spirited discussions, all of the shareholders agreed that: 

    · the support of a “centralized” system management would be beneficial to the entire operation (and was always the intent of LibraryCo), but the shareholders had different views on that model; 

    · if the Law Society could assure FOLA and the TLA that it is not intending to cut funding, then there is enough basis to continue discussions;

    · another meeting of the shareholders should take place as soon as possible and at that meeting a formal exchange of ideas should take place. 


    Further discussions between the shareholders ensued and at the November 2017 Plenary, the FOLA Executive presented an update on the status of negotiations and identified the risks and “political realities” facing the negotiators. The Executive was pleased to also inform the Presidents that the Law Society had agreed that implementing the full scope of LIRN was not possible, but that certain interim reforms were needed. 


    As a result, a scaled down version, “LIRN 3.0”, was presented. It featured:

    · reiteration that an opportunity exists to re-set and revitalize “LibraryCO”;

    · explicit focus on “competence”;

    · a re-set for the governance of the entity with a “skills-based nominated board” with accountability to the shareholders;

    · mandate to the new Board to hire a Director/Senior Manager with a mandate to build and revitalize the system;

    · reiteration that the existing association staff relationship should remain with no change to their status;

    · a guarantee of funding for five years and an opportunity to make the case for growth;

    · making the “Library Levy” a “Competence Levy”. 


    With the support of the Presidents, FOLA agreed to endorse a move forward with the next steps which is to retain a consultant to develop criteria for the skills matrix needed by the new Board of Directors and endorse the shareholders moving forward to recruit that new Board based on the criteria. 


    From November 2018 until January 2019, prospective board members were interviewed and selected with FOLA being part of that selection committee. That board is not yet in place as the new corporation has yet to be formed with proper constating documents. The LSO has provided new draft documents to the TLA and FOLA for their respective review. It is the understanding of FOLA that these documents are meant to preserve the rights and obligations contained in LibraryCo’s Unanimous Shareholder Agreement. 


    On November 14th 2019, FOLA's membership unanimously passed the Universal Shareholders Agreement (LIRN USA).  It is now awaiting formal approval by the Law Society of Ontario.

    Downloads

    OCLA Web Poster Maroon QR Code (pdf)Download
    OCLA Web Poster Grey QR Code (pdf)Download
    COVID-19 Communication to Library Staff - March 20 2020 (pdf)Download
    Renfrew County Law Library - Policy on Library Access (pdf)Download
    FOLA SW Regional Letter to Benchers (pdf)Download
    Central West Letter re LiRN Funding (pdf)Download
    Central East Letter to Benchers - 2021 (pdf)Download
    convocation-october28-2021-audit-and-finance-committee-report (pdf)Download
    OCLA Access Point Winter 2022 (pdf)Download
    Impacts Report 2022 (pdf)Download
    FOLAs Staffing Checklist - 2023 top 10 v2 (pdf)Download

    Downloads

    LIRN Update - Sept 2017 (pdf)Download
    Timeline & History of Negotiations & Discussions RE - Future of Law Libraries - 2013-2017 (pdf)Download
    Status of negotiations with the Law Society with respect to the future of LibraryCo - June 2017 (pdf)Download
    Feedback from initial consultation on LIRN Proposal - June 2017 (pdf)Download
    Resolutions Passed at FOLA's November 2014 & 2016 plenaries (pdf)Download
    Background on FOLA's Interest in the County Law Library System (pdf)Download
    FOLA's Vision of Practice Resource Centres (pdf)Download
    The Evolution of Legal Information & Library Services in Ontario - Oct 2014 (pdf)Download
    Unanimous Shareholder Agreement for LibraryCo - 2007 (pdf)Download
    THE LIRN BOARD - 2019 (pdf)Download
    FOLA LiRN Letter to Benchers 12.17.20 (pdf)Download
    Central South Letter to Benchers -2021 (pdf)Download
    NW - 2021 01 08 - Letter to Benchers re LIRN (pdf)Download
    Eastern - 2020-12-18 - LSO-LIRN Budget Cuts (pdf)Download

    Downloads

    The Advocates' Society Letter re Funding Cuts to Law Libraries - February 17 2021 (pdf)Download
    Northeast Regional Letter to Bencher - 2021 (pdf)Download
    MORE LIRN POINTS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN (pdf)Download
    Joint letter to the LSO Audit and Finance Committee April 6 2021 (pdf)Download
    Joint letter to the LSO Competence Task Force April 6 2021 (pdf)Download
    Competence-taskforce-report - Convocation - June 2021 (pdf)Download
    Bencher Contact List - JUNE 2021 - LIRN OUTREACH (pdf)Download
    FOLA Library Use Survey Results - FINAL - June 2021 (pdf)Download
    FOLA Library Use Survey Results - FINAL - June 2021 (pdf)Download
    Federation of Ontario Law Associations White Paper- FINAL (pdf)Download
    Strategic-Plan-2021-2025-One-Page-1-1 (pdf)Download
    Budget 2022 (pdf)Download
    LiRN Library Services and Library Management and HR Policies - Consultation Draft (pdf)Download
    Additional Library Services (pdf)Download
    TDO1011812 2022-2023 LiRN Association DO for Distribution (pdf)Download

    Downloads

    FOLA Consultation Meeting with LiRN - June 2022 (pdf)Download
    FOLA Lettter - LiRN re Division of Responsibilities Between Library and Association (pdf)Download
    REVISED DRAFT LiRN Library Network HR Policies and Guidelines - Aug 2022 (pdf)Download
    Bencher List - aphabetical - Sept 2022 (pdf)Download
    Bencher List - Sept 2022 - LIRN OUTREACH (pdf)Download
    TALKING POINTS - THE IMPORTANCE OF COURTHOUSE LIBRARIES - 2022 (pdf)Download
    COURTHOUSE LAW LIBRARIES INFOGRAPHIC (pdf)Download
    FOLA Letter to Benchers - Library Funding- Oct 2022 (pdf)Download
    Ashley Gibson - Courthouse Library Letter (pdf)Download
    Joanne Beasley - Courthouse Library Letter (pdf)Download
    Kenora District Law Assn - Law Library Funding (pdf)Download
    TLA Letter re Law Library Funding (pdf)Download
    Hamoody Hassan - Courthouse Library Letter (pdf)Download
    James Young - Courthouse Library Letter (pdf)Download
    HLA - Law Library Funding (pdf)Download

    Downloads

    Mervin Ridell - Courthouse Library Letter to Charette Oct 24 2022 (pdf)Download
    Sidney H. Troister comments at Convocation - Oct 2022 (pdf)Download
    Additional Library Services and Responsibilities Policy (pdf)Download
    Core Library Services and Management Responsibilities Policy (pdf)Download
    Network Library Staff Employment Guidelines (pdf)Download
    Role Matrix (pdf)Download
    Salary Matrix Developed by HR Consultant (pdf)Download
    FOLA letter to LIRN - re LiRN Business Case Deadline (pdf)Download
    LiRN Info (pdf)Download
    Sample HR Documentation - LiRN's Diversity Inclusion Policy (pdf)Download
    Sample HR Documentation - LiRN's Workplace Harrasment Policy (pdf)Download
    Sample HR Documentation - Onboarding Process (pdf)Download
    Sample HR Documentation - Performance Management Documentation (pdf)Download
    Sample HR Documentation - Sample Library Staff Tasks (pdf)Download
    Sample HR Documentation - Staffing Levels Opening Hours (pdf)Download

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