Website Outreach/Legal Self-Help Stations

Legal Aid Bureau - 020059

Abstract Number: 020059

October 2002

The Legal Aid Bureau (LAB) partnered with the Maryland Legal Assistance Network (MLAN) to create 10 outreach sites with self-help computer stations surrounded by legal self-help material, outsourced tech support and trained local staff to assist users in accessing pertinent online legal information. The goal is to increase access to the Peoples Law library website - www.peoples-law.org, the Maryland public access, legal information website supported by the Bureau, MLAN and the state's other 27 legal services providers. The workstations are located in various sites throughout Maryland. Sites include public library - court partnerships, law libraries, a senior center and a Latino outreach center. For a complete listing of the outreach sites, see the website.

Unlike other more technology-intensive outreach initiatives, our focus is the creation of a community network using the Peoples Law Library website as one portal through which the resources of the state's nonprofit legal services providers are accessed.

The two goals of this outreach project have shaped the design and implementation. The intent is to:

• Explore the success factors in establishing outreach sites within a broad range of community host agencies and

• Integrate the outreach sites into the programming of the host agencies in such a way that the LAB/MLAN site support can be reduced over time to (1) maintenance/development of the Peoples Law Library and (2) ongoing evaluation of feedback on the content and utility of website and (3) provision of advocates for the associated community legal education sessions at the host agencies.

Contact Information:

Rhonda Lipkin
Legal Aid Bureau Inc.
500 East Lexington Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Phone: (410) 539-5340
Email

Ayn H. Crawley
Maryland Legal Assistance Network/MLSC
15 Charles Plaza, Suite 102
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: (410) 576-9494
Email

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