To Preserve the Past
To Serve the Present
To Enhance the Future
National Equal Justice Library
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Washington College of Law 4801 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20016
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The Year 2000 at the National Equal Justice Library
New Acquisitions, New Awards, and a New Website
[This annual report covers the cumulative progress the National Equal Justice Library has achieved since it opened in September, 1997. But we begin with some highlights of what happened in just the last year — as the Library’s small staff and its Board built on the solid base established in earlier years.]
Added over 100 boxes of materials to its Archives of unpublished materials on the history of the struggle for equal justice the United States — increasing this essential collection by over thirty percent.
Added hundreds of books, articles and other publications to its International Legal Aid Collections and brought its English Legal Aid Collection to nearly 1000 volumes.
Opened a second website (http://www.equaljusticeupdate.org) on an independent webserver. This website has over 500 pages of materials and focuses on the Library’s rapidly expanding International Legal Aid Collections, but also features a compendium of quotes about equal justice, brief reviews of books on equal justice, a condensed online version of its historical exhibits, detailed information about its awards program and the awardees, and information from and about “Reggie” Alumni around the country.
Gave out the first Edgar and Jean Cahn Article Awards for the outstanding articles on the subject of equal access to justice — to Professor Marc Galanter of the University of Wisconsin and the late Professor Marc Feldman of the University of Maryland.
Presented the first John Bradway Award for publications that advance equal justice although not specifically addressed to that subject — to Professor Gary Bellow of Harvard Law School and Professor Bea Moulton of Hastings Law School for their pioneering contribution to clinical legal education, The Lawyering Process.
Started a “Rare Books Collection” to locate and preserve books from earlier centuries bearing on the goal of equal access to justice as well as first editions of the more important 20th Century publications in this field. Already included in the dozen or so acquisitions for this new collection is a 16th Century book from England containing the “Statute of Henry VII” enacted in 1495 which first gave English paupers a right to free counsel in civil cases.
Completed several “Finding Aids” for archival collections of unpublished papers, including a major named collection featuring the papers of James Doherty, long-time Chief Public Defender in Chicago.
Co-founded and will provide the permanent home for a memorial website commemorating the spirit and contributions of the late Gary Bellow, one of the creative minds behind both the federal legal services program and the modern approach to clinical legal education.
Return to the Annual Report Title Page and explore this on-line version of the 2001 Annual Report. You will learn more about the Library’s long-term goals and the progress it already has made toward those goals.