Monday, February 13, 2006

Suffolk County Law Library Access Questioned

An article in Sunday's Boston Herald, Exclusive bru$h with the law: New library closed to the public, questions the money spent on the Social Law Library, a private law library located within the new John Adams Courthouse. "The Social Law Library, which occupies 82,000 square feet, or roughly 40 percent, of the stately new John Adams Courthouse, is closed to the public. That makes Suffolk County the only county in the state without a free public law library for the citizens who foot the bills. This despite the fact that the Legislature regularly appropriates an average of $1.5 to $2 million annually for library operations, state budget records show. In contrast, the 17 other public law libraries across the state, also free to the public, get an average of $294,000 each year, records show. "