The Clermont County Law Library Association: Then and Now
Submitted by Carol A. Suhre

Then – An Act to promote and encourage Law Library Associations “in counties with a city of the first class,” was passed by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio April 27, 1872. According to the Law Library’s Articles of Incorporation, Forrest Ely called the first meeting of the Clermont County Law Library Association on June 17, 1937. Ely was appointed Law Librarian, with Hugh C. Nichols serving as Vice-President and Orville Halbisch secretary / treasurer. The yearly “ initiation” fee was $2.00. The attorneys room, described as “a nice, modern library and room,” adjoined the Office of the County School Superintendent. The Secretary had to write to the Congressional Representative in order to receive a copy of the Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure. No books were to be removed without the consent of the Librarian, and they were to be returned within 24 hours !

Now – Five members currently serve as trustees of the Law Library Association, with Chairman Mike Minniear serving since 1981. Before his retirement, Rex Ely was the longest-serving Board member. The Law Librarian appointed by Common Pleas Judge Charles G. White, received an annual salary of $200 in 1942. Rex wanted to pay the first Law Librarian hired with a degree, $250 per week, asking why she couldn’t get health insurance from her husband ! (She wasn’t married at the time.) There are no longer any annual fees associated with using the Law Library. Perhaps the practice of collecting dues was eliminated because records from 1946 show many members in arrears for three years. When Judge Walker recently asked for Reference Manual for Scientific Evidence, the law library staff was able to hand it to him. There is an automated check-out system which allows a generous 21-day loan period.

Then – Hon. Harry Britton, Common Pleas Court, appointed James W. Walker and Hugh C. Nichols as law librarians. They gave their $400 annual salary to the Law Library for the purchase of more books. In 1955, $400 was requested from the County General Fund. It wasn’t until 1956 that the County Auditor pledged to the Law Library the portions of collected fines legally entitled to them under ORC 3375.50. By 1957, almost all of the bills were paid, the Association was out of the red, and a surplus was had at year’s end ! After receiving sufficient funds for five years running, the Law Library refunded $4500 to the County Treasurer.

The first joint meeting of the Law Library Association and the Clermont County Bar Association was held on January 16, 1959. Law Library meetings had been held at 7:30 p.m. in the Courthouse, with the Annual Meeting held at the Cincinnati Club. Previous Bar Association meetings had been held in various locations, including the Silver Bar on SR 125. At the suggestion of those in attendance, Librarian Hugh L. Nichols purchased improved lighting for the stacks, a conference room table and chairs, and additional shelving. The list of long-range improvements included adding air conditioning.

Now – The Law Library receives a weekly check from the County Auditor, with no real indication from which of the numerous ORC sections the money was derived. The Law Library only receives its portion when it is collected, thus making a true budget impossible to compile. Because all of the county departments receive legal research materials from the Law Library Association free-of-charge, there has not been a surplus for many years. Law Library funds have paid for the original ELMO units and the TVs and magazines in the jury rooms while subsidizing too many things to be mentioned here. Items acquired which are frequently used and borrowed include laptops, a heavy-duty shredder, digital camera, projectors, dry erase board, and extension cords, just to name a few.

Meetings of the Board of Trustees are held quarterly in the Law Library’s comfortably air-conditioned conference room. In the latest courthouse renovation, fourteen feet was lost from this area and the ceiling continues to leak in various locations. In 1995, the Law Library Board was approached by the Bar Association’s officers to assume the administrative duties of the Bar, which entails such things as answering the Lawyers’ Referral phone, preserving the records, and compiling the Legal Directory.

Then – The sign-out sheet at the door of the Law Library allowed each attorney to remove as many volumes as necessary – requesting "strict compliance on an honor system basis." The complete volumes of the West Reporter System were replaced in 1976 by purchases of fiche, a portable reader and an additional reader- printer-copier. Hardbound volumes were disposed of by tearing off the binding and slicing out the pages, ensuring that the books would not be re-sold. Many made their way intact, unto the shelves in attorneys’ offices and into the backgrounds of photography studios.

The Law of Southwestern Ohio, published in 1972, included this description from Forrest Ely, Judge Halbisch, & Judge Harold D. Nichols: “a very excellent law library directed by Hugh L. Nichols II has expanded in the Court House, with sufficient space for over 10,000 volumes, including reports on cases from every state in the Union, laws of the State of Ohio before 1800, and books and texts of both state and national importance to provide a fine working library for the lawyers of Clermont County.”

Major changes occurred in 1964 when the decision was made for the Board of Trustees to appoint the Law Librarian with the Judges’ approval. Denise Kelley, Tom Blust, Francis Osborne, Eda Watson, and Judy Nichols initially filled this position until it was determined in 1975 that personnel was needed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to properly administer the Law Library. (Other staff that followed were: Hugh L. Nichols, Colleen Lowe, D’Anne Durkee, June Hill, Joyce Blust, Lynda Hall, Bonnie White, Gayle Schmidt, Monica Marshall, Tiffany Waddle, and Robin Holcomb.)

Now – The legal researcher today is no longer limited to headnote numbers via the West Digest System. The only limit now is one’s imagination in terms of words and categories. Even full-text computerized databases, which eliminate much of the work of manually sorting through opinions and secondary materials, have constraints that are not found in hard-copy searching. A computer is good at showing you what it is, but the pace of legal reform has actually slowed with the advent of computerized reseaching. Some attorneys have been conservative and slow to change, finding problems arising from the way information appears in electronic databases. It should be noted the Clermont County Law Library had the first installation of the Westlaw online legal research system in southwest Ohio. The contract was signed in March 1982, the same time Winona Belew was hired to clean the Law Library. Both have continued to provide fine quality service to the present day.

Then – Weight problems in the Law Library facility were documented in 1980. Letters were sent to the Commissioners citing water marks, hanging ceiling tiles, partially working ceiling lights, and a need for re-painting. County Engineer Walt Carter gave a written report projecting the 900 square feet doubling every year based on the 300-500 feet of shelf space needed to hold the ever-increasing collection. Some hall space was used for storage when the attorneys’ conference room was converted for use by the Clerks’ office. House Bill 559 allowed Law Library Associations to use statutory monies to buy AV equipment. The Commissioners bought a new desk, typewriter and stand. Evidently, the completion of the longest looping expressway in the United States, I-275, created enormous traffic fines as more than $217,000.00 in fine money was turned back during the period 1979 - 1981.

1982 began a time of many problems. The weight problem had escalated. The Commissioners suggested moving the Law Library next to Ben Franklin, asking that a monthly financial contribution be made to pay for the new location. The statutes were clear – fine money could not be furnished for that purpose. The Law Library trustees preferred a move to the County Court Building, offering to pay only the moving expenses. The collection was inventoried, telephone lines and computer terminal connections were replaced. The Law Library did not move to the new site.

The next suggested location was the basement being vacated by the Juvenile Court. Then the Commissioners said the Law Library would move to the paint store. An architect was hired to lay-out the interior, discussion was had regarding furniture, paint and carpet. Movers were contacted. But in December, Judge John Watson called a meeting with the Commissioners telling them the Law Library would not be moving outside of the Courthouse.

The Law Library Board of Trustees enacted a variety of resolutions: asking for additional space on the 2d floor of the Jail; closing the designated attorney conference room to police officers, purchasing new furniture and carpet for the reading room, and surrendering the small research room to the Common Pleas Court referees.

Carol O’Connor was appointed Law Librarian June 20, 1983. Smoking was immediately prohibited, Board meetings were held monthly, the circulation policy was extended two weeks, books on fiche were moved to storage. Some old equipment was given to the county auction, the checking accounts became interest-bearing, a binding project was begun. Free Westlaw use was provided to the Judges, a new copy machine was purchased, a letter was sent to the County Court Judges advising them their books would be replaced only once.

The Commissioners next proposal to move the Law Library to the Bell Building was rejected. Judge Watson replied, “the Clerk of Courts office would move allowing the Law Library to expand.” Library Design Associates designed the floor plan and renovation began ! By October 1985, the Law Library had evolved into 3000 square feet of the highest-quality technology available, including the first fax machine on Main Street. Re-shelving the 18,000 books was done by the Bar Association members during a pizza party. (Thanks to Don and Bonnie White and Dick and Mary McCue, the Law Librarian was married but kept the county insurance.) No amount of pastries would change one of Rex Ely’s “no” votes. William Walker, Joe Carroll, Al Burreson, Tom Herman, and Carol Hake have served as members of the Law Library’s Board of Trustees.

Now – In 2006, in answer to concerns voiced from the judiciary, the National Conference of Bar Examiners began to explore the possibility of a stand-alone legal research component to the bar exam. This becomes more of an issue as the cost of legal information becomes more complex – choices must be made among resources and methods. More than one-half of the Bar Association members use the Law Library without any assistance at all. The physical presence of attorneys in the Law Library has declined with the installation of security following the opening of the new Courthouse in 1998. Email, fax and phone calls have increased. We have come a long way from “Honey would you get me this case?”

The current Board members: Mike Minniear, Carl Zugelter, Gary Ostendarp, Greg Chapman, and Terrell Snyder have been meeting more frequently due to legislative changes creating more expenditures and seizing parts of the fine money for indigent driver alcohol and other programs. More far-reaching legislation is scheduled to be introduced before the end of 2007, establishing a new Board and making membership in the Consortium of Law Library Boards mandatory. Many summer meetings are scheduled between the OSBA Law Library Committee and the County Commissioners Association of Ohio to diligently resolve the remaining complex details.

Interested parties can rest assured that the Law Librarian and Board of Trustees will continue to report on these matters. The county appears willing to continue to provide a physical facility with the necessary appurtenances. The current statutory funding streams will continue to be designated for the provision of legal research material and access for the general public. Special recognition goes to the assistant law librarians – Kim Crowthers (20 years) and Connie Miller (6 years) who continue to be needed for legal research, creative and thoughtful ideas, and good will.

Open House Anniversary Celebration

Prosecutors' office staff all smiles.	The Law Library is always a "safe" place.
Breakfast and lunch buffets presented by Elegant Fare.	Bob True, Clermont County Treasurer, pays homage to one of the first Clermont County Law Libraians, Hugh L. Nichols, II.
Matt VanZant from the Clermont County Chamber of Commerce & Ken Hare of Image First Solutions, stop by to congraulate the Law Library Director, Carol Suhre and staff.	Photos from years past provide entertainment for guests.
Connie & Debbie Cribbet, Court Bailiff, having a good time at the party.