Trouble with a landlord. A dispute over a fence line. A court form you can’t find, or a lawyer you can’t afford. For more than 60 years, the Benton County Law Library has been a place to start.
Oregon law requires each county to have a law library, and Benton County’s has been open since 1962. It is aimed at the general public, not just attorneys.
The library has changed locations over the years. It once occupied a room of bookshelves on the top floor of the county courthouse. By the early 1990s, the weight of all those volumes was straining the century-old building, and the collection moved down the street to 559 SW Monroe Ave. It sits across 6th Street from the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.
Today, much of the research happens on a screen. The library offers a public-access computer with Westlaw, a legal database that typically costs a subscription fee. The library’s website also gathers links to Oregon statutes, court forms and other resources.
Tuesdays are the main event
The library is open to the public every Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an hour closed for lunch. Visitors can talk with the law librarian or use the Westlaw computer. Copies and printouts of web pages cost 25 cents per page, and visitors can also bring a flash drive to save their search results.
There is one important limit. The law librarian is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice or tell visitors which form or document they need. What the librarian can do is point people toward where to look.
On the other weekdays, people can call 541-766-6673 during normal business hours. Staff can help callers find online resources and share phone numbers for free or low-cost attorneys, depending on the caller’s income.
For lawyers and students, too
Local attorneys can use the library and Westlaw by checking out a key to the premises through the same phone number. Most of the print books can also be checked out by attorneys, which may appeal to newer lawyers hoping to research a case without paying for an expensive database.
Students may find the collection useful as well. It includes historical statutes and case law dating back to the late 1800s.
If you go
- Where: 559 SW Monroe Ave, Corvallis
- When: Tuesdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed one hour for lunch)
- Phone: 541-766-6673 (other weekdays, normal business hours)
- Online: counsel.bentoncountyor.gov/about/law-library/legal-research-online-resources/
To contact Hallie Greenberg about this story, email office@corvallisadvocate.com
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