Page 42 - December 2019 Bar Journal

COLUMNLEGAL RESEARCH & WRITING

CLEVELAND LAW LIBRARY

CELEBRATES ITS 150TH ANNIVERSARY

Kathleen M. Dugan & Joseph N. Gross

his December, the Cleveland law.” Five prominent attorneys named constituencies in an efficient and cost-
1
Law Library Association Jesse P. Bishop, John Hutchins, Seneca effective manner utilizing its extensive
(CLLA) is celebrating 150 O. Griswold, William J. Boardman, and collection in print and electronic format.”
2
years of service to the greater Samuel Williamson served as the CLLA’s With the combined strength and resources
T Cleveland legal community. first Board of Directors. The CLLA’s of two libraries, the Cleveland Law Library
Although the CLLA has historically current Board has expanded to include 14 is able to maintain a robust collection of
provided value to law firms of all sizes members who represent a cross-section of print and online resources, offer cutting-
and practice areas, it has always been local practitioners at large and small law edge services, and provide many programs,
a great equalizer for small firms and firms, as well as judges from the Cuyahoga including CLE classes in-house, through
solo practitioners who cannot afford to County Common Pleas and Eighth District webinars, and on-demand through the
purchase their own legal research tools. Appellate Courts. Since 1912, the CLLA Internet. The Cleveland Law Library is
The CLLA has endured because of its has been located on the fourth floor of open to members every week from Monday
focus on delivering the best possible legal the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in through Friday, and members of the public
reference and research services to lawyers downtown Cleveland. are welcome every Wednesday.
and law firms, its eagerness to embrace new Like many other law libraries that were The CLLA’s collection began with
technologies, and its willingness to explore established in Ohio and the United States donations and purchases from its founding
synergies with local, law-related partners in the late 1800s, the CLLA was originally fathers. By 1901, the CLLA’s collection was
to support the administration of justice in incorporated as a private, non-profit law growing by 1,000 volumes per year, and by
Cuyahoga County. library association to serve the members its centennial in 1969, the CLLA could boast
The CLLA was founded on December 18, of the local bar. Over the course of history, to owning substantially all of the world’s law
1869 by 66 local attorneys and judges who Ohio statutes carved out an additional role available in the English language. Today,
recognized the need for a local law library for the CLLA as a county law library to the Law Library’s print collection stands
dedicated to legal research, education serve the local judiciary, elected officials at 117,550 legal treatises, form books,
and the “promotion of the science of the in Cuyahoga County, and members of practice guides, law journals, statutes, rules,
the Ohio General Assembly. When Ohio and other materials. More importantly for
legislation was passed in 2009 that shifted modern attorneys, the CLLA maintains
the responsibility for serving local courts a large collection of online legal research
and governments to new entities called databases in-house and over 1,100 eBooks
County Law Library Resources Boards that members can access anytime from
(CLLRBs), many private association law anywhere.
libraries in Ohio closed. Since its inception, the CLLA has
However, the CLLA took a different provided essential legal reference and
and innovative approach by establishing research services. Typical reference services
a historic partnership with the Cuyahoga include finding cases, statutes, forms and
County CLLRB to provide a joint law library treatise materials for patrons, searching
in the County Courthouse. The combined public records databases for information
law library is called the Cleveland Law on parties and witnesses, performing
Library, and its mission is “to provide high competitive intelligence research on
quality legal research, education, reference companies, compiling legislative history
and other related services to its various materials, and gathering background data

42 | CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN BAR JOURNAL CLEMETROBAR.ORG