The Flossmoor Public Library has partnered with the Chicago Bar Foundation to offer easier access to court meetings on Zoom and assistance in filing court documents. The Court Access Library Center program is for community members representing themselves in civil cases.
The library provides Court Access patrons with laptops inside a study room to fill out legal forms and attend court Zoom meetings. The Chicago Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Chicago Bar Association, provided the laptops to the Library.
the Flossmoor Public Library, where patrons will be provided laptops to attend court
on Zoom or fill out legal documents as a part of the Court Access Library Center program. (Nick Ulanowski / H-F Chronicle)
If the patron needs help filling out court documents, librarians trained by the Bar Foundation can assist. While librarians can’t give legal advice, they can help identify the appropriate forms, translate forms into another language or guide patrons in completing their answers.
“Sometimes when you’re faced with a court document, it can be a blank slate, and you have no idea where to go. We’re just trying to remove that blank slate from your initial reaction,” Flossmoor Public Library Director Jaime Paicely said.
If the patron contacts the library before their court date, they can use a Flossmoor Public Library study room before 9:30 a.m., the library’s normal hours, Paicely said. They also need to notify the court that they’re appearing remotely on Zoom.
Paicely said that librarians will assist the patron in setting up the laptop’s camera and microphone and getting them ready for the Zoom meeting.
“We’ll get all that set up for them. So, at 9 a.m., when their call time is, they’re ready to go and not struggling or trying to do it themselves,” Paicely said.
While there are 12 public computers at the library, being on a laptop inside a study room grants the patron privacy from anyone watching or overhearing the Zoom meeting.
If the patron needs to find a civil attorney instead of representing themselves, the library can help with that.
The three librarians at the Flossmoor Public Library currently trained in the Court Access program are Paicely, Adult Services Manager David Martin and Adult Services Librarian Amanda Heinemann, Paicely said.
“For folks that have technology impediments or have transportation challenges, we wanted to bring these resources out into the community,” said Roya Samarghandi, the chief advocacy and innovation officer at the Chicago Bar Foundation, explaining why the Court Access program was created. “And because of the role that public libraries play, the location to expand was a no-brainer.”
The Chicago Bar Foundation partnered with the Illinois Secretary of State to contact libraries around the state. Seventeen other libraries in Illinois are in the Court Access program, including Prairie Trails Public Library in Burbank and Calumet City Public Library, Samarghandi said.
