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CMLawLibraryBlog

The CM Law Library Blog seeks to inform the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law community about key legal education, research, practice, and law library news, with a particular focus on Cuyahoga County and Ohio as well as faculty research interests.

Who is Using the Law?

Jan Novak, Associate Director jan.novak@law.csuohio.edu | March 10, 2008 - 15:59

All that free law on the Internet – who is using it and for what purpose? Tom Bruce, cofounder and Director of the Legal Information Institute, recently offered his thoughts on how the kinds of primary authority and secondary analysis that the LII posts on the web are being accessed and used. Is it possible that the lofty goals of providing open access to the law are justified by concrete, measurable outcomes? Looking at patterns of use and comments on LII products, Bruce notes the following about the observations about the audience for legal information:

· It is not a “bipolar” audience – the language of the law is increasingly accessible to non-law (lay readers), and their needs for legal information run a spectrum from the personal to professional

· The Internet audience is more interested in regulations than case law

· Lay users are not trying to replace lawyers nor are they in danger of harming themselves – becoming better educated about the law, they are more likely recognize a need for legal services

· They are not doing, nor do they need, the exhaustive research that lawyers tend to do

· And, they are using the law they find to make “assertions about legal relationships” as applied to other endeavors they may be involved in, and interacting with legal text in new web applications


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Law Library Open-Sunday, March 16th

Jessica Mathewson-Library Media Technical Asst.-jessica.mathewson@law.csuohio.edu | March 10, 2008 - 09:31

The Law Library will be open limited hours on Sunday, March 16th
12pm -5pm. We will resume regular semester hours on Monday,
March 17th. Enjoy your Break.


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