Tag: Courthouse Libraries BC

Organization of the Month | January 2018

The broader context

New Website

Courthouse Libraries BC (CLBC) has just launched a refreshed website to provide you with better service: https://www.courthouselibrary.ca

It’s awesome because it now has:

  • Search with precise and relevant results
  • Navigation that makes sense
  • A snappy new look and feel

User-centred approach

The whole process started over a year ago. As an organization committed to meeting the needs of our clients, we conducted interviews with lawyers to discover how they were using our website. Among other things, these interviews uncovered:

  • How effectively the website delivered service.
  • How effectively the website enabled legal research.
  • The most common complaints and areas for improvement.

We took this valuable feedback into consideration when we started work on refreshing the site.

Changes we made

We made some of the biggest changes to the areas of the site that let users help themselves. Search was completely overhauled – clients are no longer left sifting through hundreds of confusing results. Searches of the library catalogue and the website are more precise, and the results are more relevant. We also improved how clients can browse the site. The new website is clean, easy to use and simple to navigate for lawyers and the public.

Resources and services we provide

If you are just getting started in your legal research, the CLBC website is a great place to start. Not only does the new site allow clients to find what they are looking for faster, it houses resources like Our Legal Knowledge Base, our answers to clients’ particularly difficult legal questions. This resource continues to grow as we add new items and update older ones.

Members of the public are welcome to use our digital tools, which include links to self-help websites, Clicklaw and Clicklaw Wikibooks, as well as LawMatters, the program that supports legal collections in all public libraries in BC.

If you have a question or would like to get pointed in the right direction with your legal research contact us by phone, email or in person.

About Courthouse Libraries BC

Courthouse Libraries BC is a non-profit that serves the legal community, the judiciary and the public of BC. Our mission is to help lawyers, the legal community and the public find and use legal information. Our vision is that everyone in BC has access to the legal information they need and the ability to use it. The CLBC website is the heart of the Library’s online presence. It houses the library catalogue, awesome content created by our staff, legal information training resources, and explains our services, mission, and policies. It also provides access to subscription databases to members of the Law Society of BC.

The CLBC website can be found at https://www.courthouselibrary.ca

Stay informed with Courthouse Libraries BC:

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July 2017 Events (Online, Vancouver, BC-wide)

Events, The broader context

Bookmark this post! It will be updated as more events are announced. You can also get frequent updates via our Twitter. Have a suggestion? Email us.

Join the BC Civil Liberties Association for the Canada 150 Fireworks! Celebrate the BCCLA’s work to restore citizenship equality with a spectacular view— from the Gastown rooftop patio of our hosts artist Franke James and Billiam James! The party starts at 9:00pm and goes until after the fireworks display. This party celebrates three years of work fighting to repeal the changes made by Bill C-24, and restore citizenship equality for every Canadian, regardless of where they or their families were born. Registration for this event is now closed. If you’d like to attend, email charlotte@bccla.org

  • July 5-26 (various dates): Nidus logo_niduspresents online webinars on Personal Planning

Wednesday, July 5 (11:30-12:30pm) Online Webinar: Live Demo of the Personal Planning Registry. Register Online.

Wednesday, July 26 (11:30-12:30pm) Online Webinar: Planning for Financial & Legal Matters. Register Online.

Presented by: BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association and Courthouse Libraries BC

Have you ever filed an FOI request that is met with bureaucratic obstacles, outrageous fee estimates, or documents with blanked-out pages? Do you want to file an FOI request, but are unsure about the best way to get the documents you want? This skills training workshop will provide newcomers to FOI with practical skills to prepare and submit information requests that get results, and to navigate some common challenges that can arise as requests are processed.

Through this interactive webinar, you will be able to actively engage with the workshop facilitator, so regardless of your experience filing FOI requests, this will be an invaluable opportunity to learn new skills and how to file requests strategically to avoid redactions, exemptions, missing pages that are “out of scope,” and keep fees at a minimum.

Join us to find out how to get beyond government messaging and PR spin and find out how public bodies really treat issues you care about.

  • Wednesday, July 12 (3pm-4:30pm): Seniors Program – Tea, Talk and Crumpets (PWD, OAS, CPP) in Yaletown Roundhouse Community Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews), Vancouver. A new social and recreational outlet for seniors with disabilities. This is a peer-run program with a volunteer board planning activities. The speaker is Laurette Yelle, who will be discussing Persons with Disabilities information and the transition to Old Age Security (OAS) and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).

RSVP to Dan Chalcraft community@bccerebralpalsy.com or 604 408 9484. Light refreshments provided.

  • Thursday, July 20 (10:45am-12pm): Seniors First BC presents an Elder Abuse Workshop in Cantonese held in Killarney Community Centre (6260 Killarney Street), Vancouver. Elder Abuse: What Is It? How Do We Deal With It?

Stay informed:

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