The Society was delighted to have been invited to Stormont last week to discuss the vital contribution that libraries make to our communities, education, research, business and wider society.
Librarians Derval McFetridge and Elizabeth Dowling joined representatives from 16 libraries from across the province at the Libraries Deliver: Impact and Value for Communities event, where they met with MLAs and networked with other library professionals from a diverse range of disciplines.
Organised by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Ireland Committee, the event served as an important opportunity to showcase the vital services provided to solicitors by the Society's dedicated library team.
Derval and Elizabeth deliver regular training to solicitors throughout Northern Ireland on identifying reliable sources, navigating complex information platforms, and making effective use of both subscription-based and freely available resources. These training sessions are frequently held online and can be tailored to specific firms or businesses.
Many firms in Northern Ireland, particularly smaller regional practices, have limited capacity to subscribe to the extensive range of legal resources needed to support their work. The Society library helps bridge this gap by providing equitable access to legal information, specialist resources and expert research support.
By helping solicitors access authoritative and up-to-date information, the service contributes to maintaining high professional standards across the legal sector, with 98% of queries resolved within a day.
The library also plays an important role in developing the next generation of legal professionals through its engagement with students at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies and support for specialist programmes such as the Advanced Advocacy Course, in turn ensuring a strong, well-informed profession equipped to serve the community effectively.
The training provided by our library service is available to all Society members. The next online legal research session will be held on the 17 November and can be booked here.
