The Manitoba Law Foundation, last December, made a project grant to Manitoba Law Library, Inc. (MLL) to fund the development and implementation of an online library catalog for MLL’s collection of materials held in the Great Library at the Law Courts Complex in Winnipeg.

We are pleased to see that the catalog has now gone live and features not only typical legal research resources, such as case law and text books but also public legal education materials such as those published and distributed by Community Legal Education Association.  In an era when the number of self-representing litigants continues to grow, increasing public access to such plain language legal information materials is but one way to reduce the obstacles to access to justice.

As set out on the catalog home page:

The Manitoba Law Library provides legal resources in support of the Law Society’s mandate to ensure a competent legal profession. We also serve self-represented litigants and other members of the public who need information on legal concerns. This portal is your first stop in your search for knowledge.

Through funding this project, the Manitoba Law Foundation has contributed not only to the accessibility of Great Library materials by members of the legal profession but also to the general public.