January is Consumer Law Resources Month at the Harris County Law Library. Consumer law focuses on protecting individuals in everyday transactions—when buying goods or services, dealing with debt collectors, credit reporting issues, or resolving landlord-tenant disputes. In Texas, many of these protections come from laws like the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices–Consumer Protection Act (DTPA), which prohibits false, misleading, or deceptive business practices. At the federal level, agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and nonprofit advocacy organizations—including the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC)—play a key role in enforcing consumer protections, developing policy, and providing educational resources for consumers and advocates alike.

Published irregularly but read consistently, Ex Libris Juris, the blog (or blawg) of the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library, continues to punch well above its weight. In 2025, the Law Library published 36 blog posts, which together drew more than 14,000 views—accounting for a remarkable 20% of all traffic to the Law Library website. For a blog that is neither daily nor news-driven, that percentage tells an important story: readers are not just visiting Ex Libris Juris—they are actively seeking it out.

On December 11, 2025, Harris County Commissioners Court recognized December as Impaired Driving Prevention Month and underscored a sobering reality: more than 30% of deaths on Harris County roads involve alcohol. With the holidays bringing more celebrations (and more risk), the message is simple and urgent: impaired driving is preventable—and the choices we make save lives.

In December, the Law Library is featuring a number of self-help resources for self-represented litigants. Handbooks, research guides, and concise legal treatises will be on display in the library.

This week, in continued observance of National Adoption Month and National Native American Heritage Month, the Harris County Hainsworth Law Library is highlighting a key resource from our LexisNexis Digital eBook Collection designed to support legal professionals working with Native American children and their families: The Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook: A Legal Guide to the Custody and Adoption of Native American Children (Third Edition). Now fully revised (2018) and updated, this one-of-a-kind guide remains an essential reference for attorneys, judges, social workers, counselors, and others whose work intersects with child welfare and adoption law.

November marks National Adoption Month, a time to raise awareness about the importance of adoption and to recognize the families and professionals who support children in need of permanent homes. To honor this observance, the Harris County Hainsworth Law Library is highlighting a valuable resource from our print collection designed, Contested Adoptions, to support attorneys working in this highly sensitive and procedurally complex area of law.