Legal Reference Center opens at library

SANDPOINT — Researching legal matters has gotten a little easier with the opening of the Legal Reference Center at the East Bonner County Library District's Sandpoint branch.

Bonner County Commissioners Cary Kelly, Todd Sudick and Glen Bailey were shown how the system works Wednesday morning by library staff. Lexis Nexis, a computer program, is an easy-to-use research tool for legal matters.

"It's fairly easy to navigate throughout," Bailey said of the newly-acquired program.

There is a designated computer at the library for the Lexis Nexis subscription. Reservations can be made for the same day at the reservation desk or by calling the library. People without computers or who need to research case law and legal matters will have access to the reference center during normal business hours, Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

With many people lacking access to a computer, commissioners said having the reference center at the library will make legal resources available to many people. Patrons can reserve the space using their library card, obtained through showing proof of residency, or they can sign up for a guest pass by showing identification.

"That's why it's great to have this here," Kelly said. "It's an advantage because hours of operation are longer, people use (the library) more."

Kelly said he received an email in November asking the commissioners to reopen the Bonner County Law Library to the public. It had been closed when the courthouse underwent remodeling a few years ago.

"As it turned out, we really didn't have a law library anymore," Kelly said.

They talked to lawyers, judges and the community and all said they would like to see the information made public. The commissioners researched different programs and ultimately chose Lexis Nexis. The other issue was finding a space to put it and they entered into an agreement with the library to purchase the subscription if the library provides a computer and space.

There is only one subscription to Lexis Nexis, which means only one computer has the program. A separate license would be required for different computers. The subscription with Lexis Nexis is for three years, renewable each year. It starts at $250 for the first year and goes to $257.50 and $265.25 for the remaining two years.

"All our contracts have to have a renewable clause," Kelly said. "We can't obligate the county beyond a year."

Kelly said the first year of the subscription will give them the data to see if it is a used service and how often it is used. Kelly said the reference center has already been used and very few people even knew it was open.

"I think it's going to be well utilized," Kelly said.