Got Questions?!

As a law librarian, I get asked lots and lots of question.  Some questions are are pretty straight forward like "Where can I find books on landlord tenant?" or "Where's the bathroom?"   Some questions are out in left field such as "Do you have any blue books?" or "I can't sleep here?" or "What happens if I don't eat?"  SOME questions are just borderline crazy like "If I hop on my one good leg, how long will it take me to get to the hospital?" or  "How much fiber can I get if I only eat A through C in the dictionary?"  Yep, we get all kinds of questions at the law library.

Maybe you have a question for the law librarian. Sure you do.  For instance say you have a neighbor who loves to play bongo drums at all hours of the night (particularly right when you're trying to go to sleep).  The question in this scenario might be:  How can I get my neighbor to stop playing his bongo drums at all hours of the night?  or Are there any laws the prohibit playing drums after 10:00PM?  While each state has it's own rules dealing with neighbor rights, what you might consider doing is to go to your local county law library and take a look at Neighbor Law by Nolo Press.  It's an easy to read resource that is not state specific (meaning it includes information that can be applied in any number of states).  See how easy this question/answer thing is?  Let's try a few more...

Let's say you're a parent and one of your kids is having a divorce.  As is the case in most divorces, one of the parties tries to use the children in a divorce as pawns and s/he tells you that unless your kid agrees to all of their (excessively burdensome) terms, that you will no longer be able to see your grandchildren (and believe me, this happens all the time).  So, in this case your question might be:  How can I secure my rights as a grandparent?  While each state has it's own set of rules dealing with grandparent rights, what you might consider doing is going to your local county law library and take a look at Grand wishes by Susan Hoffman (Collegare Press).  This is a great resource dealing with grandparent rights and covers :

• If you have lost access to a grandchild;
• How to re-connect with parents and grandchildren and avoid escalating estrangement;
• Understanding Grandparent Rights and children’s rights
• How to become an empowered grandparent;
• Learning tips to achieve balance during crisis and ease stress;
• Learning how to build your own support network.

Is that cool, or what?!  I mean, this is a really great book and it walks you through some pretty difficult situations.  Let's try one more.

Say you're feeling a bit oppressed at work.  Fact is, your boss has this thing with smacking your backside everytime s/he passes by.  Co-wokers tell off color jokes when you're in the room.  You've asked it to stop and your requests are denied.  Suddenly, a manager makes a pass at you and tells you that unless you comply you'll never be promoted.  What are you going to do?!?  Yeah, that's a real doozy and we get guys and gals in here all the time with these sorts of problems.  In this scenario, the question might be:  What resources do you have to help me understand my rights in the workplace against harassment?  As it turns out, we do have a number of resources that can help you out (both state specific and general law).  One that stands out in my mind is called Workplace Harassment Law (by BNA Books).  This is a great resource that deals not just with sexual harassmant but it also talks about discrimination and other problems in the workplace.

I could go on and on with questions and answers but I guess the moral to this story is if you have a question, I'm betting your local county law librarian has an answer - and not just any answer but the single best answer that will answer your most hard-pressed question...because that's why where here - to help you help us help you!