Norwood Library and Massachusetts Trial Court Libraries Relaunch Access to Justice Initiative

NORWOOD — Your local library has changed dramatically since the days ofmandatory silence and dusty stacks.

“Public libraries today … are no longer book warehouses where people get shushed for speaking above a whisper,” said Maureen Amyot, Director of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). “Those days are long gone. Today’s libraries connect people with essential services, information and importantly, with each other.”

Amyot joined state and local court and library officials in Norwood on Wednesday, Oct. 1, to announce the relaunch of the Massachusetts Access to Justice initiative.

“This project touches on all three of those things in a place where everyone iswelcome,” said Amyot. “By bringing legal services into the public library, the partnersare providing a local, easy-to-access, familiar, welcoming place for residents toaccess the services they need.”

The MBLC is a state agency created in 1890 to promote and support equitable library services across the Commonwealth.

A Daunting Experience

“The idea of physically entering a courthouse for any reason can feel really intimidating,” Amyot told the packed reading room inside the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood. “Transportation issues, work hours, lack of stable internet at home, can also be barriers for those looking to access legal services. The Access to Justice project helps people overcome all those hurdles and get the hope they need right in their own communities or nearby.”

The Massachusetts Trial Court Law Library’s Public Library Initiative provides Morrill Memorial Library visitors with access to computer terminals and the internet to search for court resources, such as interpreter services, legal aid and case information. And now, multiple court branches can be accessed at specially designated Bay State libraries.

“The Morrill Memorial Library continues to redefine what libraries are and the rolethey play in civic life, and we’re happy that we are taking this relaunch step,” saidTown of Norwood General Manager Tony Mazzucco, who added that this next stepwill illustrate what local “libraries can do for our communities and ourCommonwealth.”

Norwood’s public library is one of 15 participating libraries in six counties —Barnstable, Essex, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk and Suffolk — across Massachusetts.

“We were the first public library in the Commonwealth to launch Access to Justice,” said Clayton Cheever, Morrill Memorial Library Director. “We know what an essential role this library has played in Norwood for over 100 years.”

The Morrill Memorial Library also provides fast Wi-Fi with stable connections for video communications. Visitors can contact the virtual court help desk, use library computers and printers to access and print court forms, and reserve designated, private library spaces for virtual court hearings.

“When people access our justice system, we know that can be a challenging time in anybody’s life,” Cheever said. “We want to help make that interaction as positive as possible. There’s a lot of stress that can be involved when you go into courthouses, when you have other interactions with the justice system. But, ideally … when we see all the smiling little faces from all the youngest users of the library, to the seniors who have been using it their entire lives, people really feel comfortable here in the library. “That’s what we want, for people to feel as comfortable as possible when they need to work with the justice system.”

The Under-Represented

Robert DeFabrizio, Esq., Senior Manager of Law Libraries, Court Services and Law Libraries Department, Massachusetts Trial Court, Office of Court Management, explained that the “initiative grew out of a well-documented and acknowledged need for access to the courts and legal information.”

“The statistics on unrepresented parties in civil courts included nearly 9 out of 10 defendants in Housing Court … while the majority of cases in Probate and Family Court involve at least one unrepresented party,” said DeFabrizio. “Needless to say, unrepresented parties are at a disadvantage while navigating the court system and fully advocating for their legal rights.

“Although the 15 Trial Court law libraries exist to provide free legal information to everyone who lives and works in the state, as the numbers … show, the challenge is daunting.”

But local libraries are trusted institutions — a sort of social safety net.

“Many people visit their public library, asking for help on a wide range of help on a wide range of issues, including legal information,” DeFabrizio said. “Thus, the idea
of partnering with our public library colleagues was seen as a way to bridge the access to justice gap.”

In closing, DeFabrizio shared a quote from the Honorable Ralph D. Gants, who was the 37th Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and an ardent access to justice supporter: “Until we create a world in which all who need counsel in civil cases have access to counsel, we must do all we can to make the court system more understandable and accessible for the many litigants who must represent themselves.”

“Words that are so appropriate for this day and age, and in terms of this program itself,” said DeFabrizio.

Services Available

When the initiative was first launched in 2022, only one court offered virtual services. Now, all the different branches of courts in Massachusetts offer virtual services. While not all court business can be resolved remotely, many services can be utilized, including court virtual registries, the Court Service Centers, and the Trial Court Law Libraries Zoom with a Law Librarian.

“As Register of the Probate and Family Court for Norfolk County, I am dedicated to the success of the Access to Justice project between the Norwood Memorial Library and the Probate and Family Court,” said Colleen Brierley, the Register of the Probate and Family Court for Norfolk County. “We are committed to ensuring equal access to the Probate Court for all members of the public, and we are prepared for the relaunch and expansion of this invaluable program. The Registry is ready to assist through the Virtual Registry and in person at the library. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this great step forward in continuing our Access to Justice initiative.”

Norwood’s public library was chosen because it’s centrally located for many of the towns in Norfolk County and is easily accessible by public bus routes.

“And I hope other Massachusetts libraries look to what’s being done here in Norwood as a model, and reach out to Clayton Cheever or to the Trial Court, to find
out how they can launch it in their own communities,” Amyot said. “How wonderful would this be, if it was an option at every single library in the Commonwealth?”

The Morrill Memorial Library is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Visit the library’s website for more information.

Those with questions about the offered resources or who would like to make an appointment to get extra help can contact the library at 781-769-0200.

Access to Justice through the library:

The Morrill Memorial Library is proud to partner with the Massachusetts Trial Court System to offer virtual court access through the Access to Justice program. Visit the
Access to Justice website. Free interpreter services are available through the
Office of Language Access.

Reserve a library space to attend court remotely:

Quiet, private spaces are available at the Morrill Memorial Library to attend court remotely using a laptop provided by the library. To reserve a study room for the Access to Justice program, call the library at 781-769-0200 x2 or x7. Please try to reserve your room in advance and let us know if you have to cancel so we can make the room available to someone else.