Outreach Services
The State Law Library celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a brown-bag lunch on Friday, January 15. The program was titled “Examining the Roots of the American Civil Rights Movement.” State Law Librarian Kaye L. Maerz gave a brief oral biography of Dr. King and participants viewed a video that featured highlights from his major speeches. The event concluded with a group discussion of the impact of the civil rights movement on the American culture. Attorney participants earned CLE credits.
On January 20, the Library hosted a workshop on “Legal Issues in Genealogical Research. Scott E. Johnson, Assistant Attorney General of West Virginia, discussed genealogical research in relation to the Freedom of Information Act, basic copyright duties and obligations, and the right to access cemeteries on privately owned property. A question-and-answer session followed Mr. Johnson’s PowerPoint presentation.
On February 1, the State Law Library and the Berkeley County Law Library began offering free income tax preparation for low- to middle-income taxpayers with annual earnings of less than $49,000. The service will continue by appointment through April 15.
February 2 was EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) Awareness Day at Appalachian Power Park. Bruce A. Wilson, Sara Thompson, and Steve Bradbury participated in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)-sponsored event which promoted EITC awareness, tax preparation and assistance, and consumer credit counseling. A similar event was held at the Rehab Center in Institute on February 24.
On February 4, Library staff manned a booth in the Capitol rotunda at Library Day at the Legislature. Librarians from across the state gathered to display information about their libraries, discuss library services, and encourage library use. Sara Thompson, Sandy Stemple, and Steve Bradbury of the State Law Library chatted with interested participants and handed out literature explaining the library’s mission of providing access to legal information to all citizens of West Virginia. A PowerPoint display highlighted free services, including monthly workshops and brown-bag lunches on legally-related topic of interest to the general public.
On the second Friday of each month, Reference Librarian Bruce A. Wilson presents a workshop on Résumé Writing and Online Job Searching. Mr. Wilson reviews examples of different types of résumés, explains how and what information to include to enhance the job-seeker's skills and experience, and discusses how to write a cover letter and proper thank-you response after an interview. Mr. Wilson also demonstrates online job searching using the Internet and gives hands-on instruction on how to use the free public access computers in the Library.
Upcoming Projects
Upcoming workshops include Learning CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and Advance Health Care Directives. The CPR session will include a short video produced by the American Heart Association and training in Hands-Only™ CPR. The Advance Health Care workshop will focus on the legal choices a person may face in his or her own medical care decisions, including living wills, medical power of attorney, healthcare surrogate, and other advance medical directives.
The sessions are free and open to the public. Visit the Library Web site at http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/library/workshops.htm for dates and times. For information about any programs, call (304) 558-2607.
The State Law Library will soon offer Shepard’s® Citation Service online with access to West Virginia primary law such as the West Virginia Code and Court Rules, state Administrative materials, The West Virginia Law Review, Martindale-Hubbell, West Virginia Mealey’s Litigation NewsBriefs, and state newspapers including the Charleston Daily Mail, The Charleston Gazette, and the State Journal. The service is free and will be available at the State Law Library, six Regional Circuit libraries, the Kanawha County Law Library, and the Legal Research Centers at the public libraries in Martinsburg, Romney, Marlinton, Beckley, Welch, and Clarksburg.
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