Librarians at the State Library of Iowa and the University of Iowa Law Library have launched The People’s Law Library of Iowa, an online resource that helps people understand legal issues in “plain language.”
The website guides Iowans through difficult topics, such as landlord and tenant law, and then connects them with additional resources, such as finding a lawyer. For Carissa Vogel, director of the UI’s Law Library, it’s about the people’s access to justice.
“It’s great that we have like permanent access to the laws and official codes out there for people. But we need to actually find a way to meet people where they are,” Vogel said.
Creating this sort of site was a recommendation of the Iowa Access to Justice Commission created by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2016. The commissioners wanted to emulate the easy-to-understand law website offered by other states, specifically The People’s Law Library of Maryland, which has been operational for over 20 years. But without funding, an Iowa equivalent remained aspirational.
It was federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in 2021 that finally provided funding for the site. With libraries across the state closed because of COVID-19, many people couldn’t find information they needed.
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People’s Law Library of Iowa aims to make the law accessible for all Iowans
