The Law Library was pleased to welcome Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan to unveil the latest addition to our digital outreach initiatives —the Digital Education Nook. We were also joined by Gabe Baker, Community Outreach Specialist for the Office of Lina Hidalgo, Harris County Judge, to introduce the Law Library’s latest effort to promote digital inclusion.
“The Digital Education Nook is a section in the Law Library where visitors can sit down and watch on-demand video content,” said County Attorney Ryan. “These videos cover a wide range of topics relevant to both the general public and to practicing attorneys.”
With content like a self-help collection, which is made available in collaboration with the Texas Office of Court Administration, self-represented litigants in Harris County can now have access to short tutorials on legal processes, such as “How to file a case?” and “How to appear in court?”, regardless of their ability to afford computer equipment or pay for home broadband or mobile data plans.
Attorneys can watch, learn, and earn Texas continuing legal education credit for free via videos of experts who visit to share their knowledge at live programs in the Harris County Attorney Conference Center. The programs are recorded and then made available for viewing through the Digital Education Nook.
“We’ve found that recent graduates still struggling with student loan debt and small firm attorneys without a big budget benefit tremendously from the free opportunities to stay up-to-date with the latest technology,” said Sears. “Since these are the folks who frequently serve individuals who might otherwise have to represent themselves, we try to focus on expanding training opportunities for small firm attorneys.”
See the Harris County Attorney’s Office press release to learn more and visit the Law Library’s webpage for details about the Digital Education Nook.