It is pumpkin spice season! If you are looking for a reason to get pumped up, here is one – the Victor Miceli Law Library in downtown Riverside is finally open! We are delighted to welcome you back and are hopeful that you will appreciate the clean and open layout of our new California Reading Room along with a few modern amenities. If you have not already, we encourage you to stop by and check it out.

We are equally delighted to present the 2021-2022 Annual Report and share with you a few highlights here:

• The Law Library completed its ’s migration to a new Integrated Library System (ILS). With the implementation of the OCLC WorldShare Management Services (WMS), the library’s print and electronic resources workflows from acquisitions and circulation to resource discovery, eResource management, and analytic reporting are integrated within a single cloud-based system. The OCLC WMS provides our staff with a robust and flexible platform that will help improve our library services, realize cost-efficiency, and improve our collection development and collaborative approaches to technical services. It enables patrons to search our library’s print, electronic, and digital resources, as well as those held by thousands of libraries worldwide in a single Web-based interface.
• There were 25,587 volumes withdrawn from RCLL’s print collection including Federal case reporters, statutes, and state annotated codes, which is reflective of our direction towards a digital law library collection.
• Continued increase in the Law Library’s social media engagement; 20% more Facebook followers, 16% more Instagram followers, and 14% more Twitter followers.
• The Law Library staff responded to 2,947 patron inquiries, a 154% increase from the previous fiscal year.
• The modernization of the Victor Miceli Law Library building came to fruition in 2021-2022 fiscal year, addressing the much-needed replacement and upgrade of its HVAC and electrical systems, and a few cosmetic changes in the library portion of the building which include a redesigned and open configuration of the new California Reading Room with a multi-purpose and flexible meeting and event space. You can read more about our other library services, programs, and staff activities, in the 2021-2022 Annual Report available on the RCLL website.

Our commitment to providing county residents access to quality legal information services and resources remains strong. Here at RCLL, staff continue to work diligently to provide value-added and content-rich website to help everyone with their legal research. Towards this end, we have added the Legal Research for Everyone webpage which contains a series of 5-to-10-minute legal research videos developed specifically for anyone without a law degree or law library work experience. The videos are intended as an introduction to the legal resources available at RCLL and on how to use them effectively.

Also on our website is a Voting Resources page with links to a curated nonpartisan voting guide and video by RCLL staff, as well as the nonpartisan CalMatters 2022 Voter Guide in English and in Spanish. Election day is only a few weeks away, be sure to take time to read the information provided in the Voter Guide and feel free to direct anyone to our Voting Resources webpage.

As always, thank for your continued support. Be well and stay informed!