Librarians can only provide legal information not legal advice.
“I spent many years working in public libraries. I always followed a simple rule: If someone else had a professional license involving a subject, I provided only a resource concerning the subject. I selected the resource which I thought might help. I provided no advice or interpretation. The most common subjects involved were law, medicine, or taxes.”
– Library Survey Respondent
DO Provide Legal Information
- Do promote effective and open access to legal information
- Do provide federal and state resources on court procedures, court rules, cases and statutes
- Do provide access to legal forms and instructions
- Do direct patrons to legal treatises, dictionaries
or legal encyclopedias for explanations
- Do provide resources and referrals (including websites)
- Do allow users to come to their own conclusions
DO NOT Provide Legal Advice
- Do not become invested in the case outcome
- Do not fill out legal forms or tell patrons how to fill them out
- Do not interpret primary sources of law
- Do not recommend a specific lawyer
- Do not conduct legal research for a patron
- Do not suggest a legal course of action
Useful Language for Redirecting Patrons
- “I cannot give legal advice, but I can point you to helpful legal information.”
- “This may be a good place to start.”
- “I’m a librarian, not a lawyer, so I can’t interpret for you, but this might be helpful.”
- “Here’s a source for legal forms; please check the instructions to see if these forms apply to your specific case.”
- “If you have additional questions you may consider contacting an attorney, legal aid service or local public access law library; I can give you some information about referrals.”