5-Year Strategic Plan 2025-2030

Mission

The mission of the Washoe County Law Library is to enhance access to justice by (1) providing legal information, education, resources, tools, and materials, in print and digital formats, to those engaged with the justice system, and (2) partnering with the courts, bar associations, legal clinics, civic organizations, and government entities to help ensure the legal needs of the community are addressed.

Vision

To be the leading provider of legal resources, foster access to justice, and support the legal community in Washoe County.

Goals

1. Enhance access to justice by providing legal information and resources

   Objective: Provide a current and useful collection of legal resources in both print and digital formats.

   Strategies:

   • Maintain up-to-date print resources and online databases with statutes, case law, and treatises for use by the public at no cost.
   • Continually evaluate current and new books and databases to support legal research.
   • Evaluate patron materials requests in conjunction with Collection Development policy.
   • Organize the Law Library materials to provide easy access to users.
   • Create and maintain LibGuides on specific legal topics for the website.
   • Make staff accessible to the public by offering multiple methods of contacting the Law Library such as phone, chat, and email.

2. Partner with stakeholders

   Objective: Partner with other Court departments, and stakeholders, to determine and meet legal needs in the community.

   Strategies:

   • Continue the partnership of the Law Library Board of Trustees and Second Judicial District Court Leadership to provide a law library to the community that is free to access.
   • Continue the relationship with the Washoe County Bar Association to provide information to citizens, support successful programs, increase materials at the law library, and educate staff.
   • Continue to provide the Lawyer in the Library program to all members of our community.
   • Actively work to recruit new Lawyer in the Library volunteers and retain current volunteers.
   • Hold other special events, such as Law Day, that give the public opportunities to speak to a lawyer.
   • Offer continuing legal education courses to help attorneys meet their licensure requirements.

3. Increase community awareness of legal resources

   Objective: Increase awareness of the Washoe County Law Library and all the available services and valuable resources it offers to the community.

   Strategies:

   • Provide basic information to the public regarding our location and contact information by giving out inexpensive branded items that readily provide our contact information.
   • Utilize local media to promote special events, such as Law Day, and notify citizens of regular services.
   • Attend community events including the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office’s Community Resource Fair, and other events to promote awareness of our programs and resources.
   • Promote resources to the paralegal community.
   • Publish articles with relevant Law Library information and news for attorneys in the Washoe County Bar Association publication: The Writ.

4. Provide excellent customer service

   Objective: Employ skilled, motivated, and positive staff who will provide excellent service to citizens.

   Strategies:

   • Promote respectful and compassionate customer service to staff as a core value of the department.
   • Provide training to staff regarding legal procedures, reference, and self-represented materials so they can answer questions and provide assistance without providing legal advice.
   • Provide professional development opportunities to staff.
   • Encourage and celebrate innovation of court procedures and process.
   • Evaluate internal and external policies and procedures on a regular basis.

5. Develop the Law Library collection

   Objective: Continually developing and changing the Law Library collection to meet user needs.

   Strategies:

   • Regularly review Collection Development policy and update as needed.
   • Select materials based on providing a well-rounded and current collection for both legal professionals and self-represented litigants.
   • Utilize library maintenance or multi-year agreements with publishers such as Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis, to maintain lower costs.
   • Pursue electronic resources when available.

6. Improve access to the Court by providing plain language self-represented litigant packets and forms

   Objective: Partner with the Second Judicial District Court Resource Center to create and distribute packets and forms to self-represented litigants for commonly requested court procedures, thus providing members of the public who choose to represent themselves, or cannot afford to hire an attorney, meaningful access to the Court.

   Strategies:

   • Update, maintain, and help create packets and forms for use in the Second Judicial District Court.
   • Assist the Probate department with forms and packets used in Probate cases.
   • Attend trainings about plain language usage and best practices for creating pro se forms.
   • Aim to simplify packet instructions to make them clear for self-represented litigants.
   • Provide all packets and forms on the website and in multiple locations in the court.