Dynamic Law Libraries: Access, Development and Transformation in Africa and the United States

Abstract

Just as access to information is deemed as a fundamental human right, access to legal information is also a fundamental information access issue. Attorneys, law students and the general public require legal information for decision making. In both Africa and the United States, law libraries are at the forefront of processing, disseminating and transmitting legal information. However; access to this information is limited by factors such as inadequate physical books, physical access issues, legal literacy issues (information behaviour), and infrastructure. This paper will explore the intersection between information behaviour and access to justice. It will discuss US and Ugandan perspectives on legal information as a human right, the legal information needs of attorneys, and strategies and approaches that law libraries in US and Uganda have used to facilitate access to legal information. It will also highlight the Access to Justice Movement and some of the challenges of accessing legal information in both countries.