Sarah spoke at the Canadian Association of Law Libraries’ conference held online May 31 – June 4, 2022

Sarah spoke at the Canadian Association of Law Libraries’ conference held online May 31 – June 4, 2022
  • Sarah A. Sutherland

  • June 5, 2022

Sarah spoke on two panel presentations at the Canadian Association of Law Libraries Conference which was held online May 31 – June 4, 2022.

The sessions covered the following:

What’s it Worth? Rethinking the Value of Information Services & Professionals, presented with Kimberly Silk and Wendy Reynolds

In a climate of increasing costs and diminishing budgets, organizations of all kinds are compelled to demonstrate their value. Defining the “value” that information professionals deliver is a topic all sectors are grappling with. While models for describing the economic value of libraries have been developed, they are narrow and too focused on ROI. What’s required is a model that clearly connects library activities and information expertise with outcomes that are meaningful to the organizations they serve. Join Wendy Reynolds in conversation with Kimberly Silk and Sarah Sutherland to explore current approaches to defining the value of legal information services and professionals and the benefits of focusing on organizational outcomes and impacts.

Access to Justice Means Free Access to Legal Information, presented with Jack Cushman, Alan Kilpatrick, and Candace Fong

Free access to legal information not only benefits academic and research goals, it also positively impacts access to justice for all, litigants and citizens as well as strengthening trust and legitimacy of our legal system. Since the Montreal Declaration on Free Access to Law, the Free the Law Movement has made a significant impact through its Legal Information Institutes throughout the world. Other initiatives and centers have taken it upon themselves to develop their own projects with regards to free access to legal information and access to justice in general. In this session, we will hear from two experts on how access to justice has come to include free access to legal information, and what are the current trends and future challenges in both Canada and the United States.Free access to legal information not only benefits academic and research goals, it also positively impacts access to justice for all, litigants and citizens as well as strengthening trust and legitimacy of our legal system. Since the Montreal Declaration on Free Access to Law, the Free the Law Movement has made a significant impact through its Legal Information Institutes throughout the world. Other initiatives and centers have taken it upon themselves to develop their own projects with regards to free access to legal information and access to justice in general. In this session, we will hear from two experts on how access to justice has come to include free access to legal information, and what are the current trends and future challenges in both Canada and the United States.