Abstract
Since our first iteration of the Guide to Virginia Legal Information Resources in March 2023, the Guide has been distributed far and wide. It has been made available on public library websites (for example it was featured as a bullet point on the website of the Bristol Public Library and uploaded to the website of the Waynesboro Public Library). It has been cataloged by academic libraries (for example, the University of Virginia Library has an entry in its online catalog) and has been included in LibGuides at academic law libraries (there is a link to the Guide in the Virginia Legal Materials LibGuide of George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School and it is included in the A-Z list of databases at the University of Richmond School of Law). Librarians’ inclusion of the Guide in the resources that they make available shows that they find the Guide useful and that the Guide is having a positive impact.
The first edition of the Guide has provided the foundation for this second edition of the Guide. While there are now many iterations of the Guide available in various places (the Committee made multiple versions of the first edition to update several hyperlinks), the Committee notes that the official, current version of the Guide is available through the Virginia Judicial System’s website and the homepage of the Virginia Association of Law Libraries. Going forward, the Committee plans to issue a new edition of the Guide every two years. Links to sources in WorldCat.org and open access websites of state government and bar associations predominate throughout the Guide because the Access to Justice Committee seeks to highlight the valuable resources that libraries have and to promote authoritative legal information that is available free of charge. Moreover, Library Finder and the Virginia Public Library Directory provide the addresses of many libraries that are open to the public. While the purpose of the Guide is to help librarians select and recommend resources for their legal self-help collections and provide a listing of resources of interest for people who choose to represent themselves in court or are seeking legal information for other matters, this Guide does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for legal advice. Those who need legal advice should consult a licensed attorney in their jurisdiction. A nation-wide resource for obtaining legal advice is LawHelp.Org (users will be directed to choose their jurisdiction at the website). Virginia-specific resources for obtaining legal advice are the Virginia Lawyer Referral Service and the American Bar Association’s Free Legal Answers (Virginia).
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2025
Recommended Citation
Cabo, Sam, "Guide to Virginia Legal Information Resources: Sources of Law, Research Guides, and Self-Help Books for Self-Represented Litigants, Second Edition" (2025). Law Faculty Publications. 1746.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/law-faculty-publications/1746
