Clicklaw Website Enhancements

How we can improve Clicklaw, New on Clicklaw

You may notice some improvements we’ve made to Clicklaw this week. This is part of a project that we’ve been working on over the last year to make it easier for new immigrants to find legal information and legal help, and we believe these enhancements will help all visitors to our site. Here’s a brief overview of some of the improvements you’ll see.

Clicklaw Search ResultsOn the search results page:

  • Facets now have check boxes, making it easier for you to see that you’re narrowing your search
  • Title links go to the resource details page, providing you with richer information about the resource
  • If the resource is available in other languages, they’re listed in search results
  • Quick links to the resource are at the end of each listing. They also include an icon to indicate that you’ll be leaving the Clicklaw site

Clicklaw Resource Details PageOn the resource details page:

  • Clear indication that clicking on the link will take you to an external site
  • Links to the resource in other languages are highlighted
  • “Explore Further” by topic or by organization is more prominent
  • New link to HelpMap, to connect you with in person legal services in your community

Still to come:

  • More blog articles on Clicklaw resources to keep you informed about what’s new, and what’s been updated
  • Promotion to encourage you to sign up for the Clicklaw blog to stay in touch with what’s new on Clicklaw
  • “Train the trainer” kit so you can teach others about Clicklaw, including videos providing quick tips on using Clicklaw
  • Ongoing work with our contributors to ensure Clicklaw content is complete and up to date
  • Webinars for service providers on using Clicklaw

As always, we welcome your feedback!

 

Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC) launches Tenant Survival Guide as Clicklaw Wikibook

New on Clicklaw

Courthouse Libraries BC and Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC) announced today that the Tenant Survival Guide is now available as a Clicklaw Wikibook. In its new online format at http://wiki.clicklaw.bc.ca, the Tenant Survival Guide is easy to read on screen, fully searchable, and hyperlinked to key forms and resources for tenants.  The full PDF press release is posted online.

In addition to providing an excellent online reading experience, the new format of the Tenant Survival Guide also supports flexible printing and reading options for offline use. As a Clicklaw Wikibook, the Guide can also be downloaded and printed as a PDF, or downloaded as an EPUB — a popular ebook standard — and read on an ereader, tablet or mobile device. Coming soon is a print-on-demand option.

The flexible printing and reading options benefit public libraries and readers who find it hard to access or use computers — while the online version better extends the reach of the Tenant Survival Guide to tenants across British Columbia.

As the term “wiki” suggests, Clicklaw Wikibooks uses wiki technology, which enables information to be updated quickly to respond to changes in the law. TRAC will continue to update the Tenant Survival Guide on Clicklaw Wikibooks as laws affecting tenants evolve.

In releasing the Tenant Survival Guide as a Clicklaw Wikibook, TRAC joins People’s Law School and authors like John-Paul Boyd and Cliff Thorstenson in collaborating with Courthouse Libraries BC to provide legal information in an accessible, innovative format for British Columbians. A full list of Clicklaw Wikibook titles is found here.