LAHAINA – Expanding legal resources available to the West Maui community, Lahaina Public Library now offers the public access to the American Law Reports Digest (ALR, Digest), First through Sixth Series.

ALR Digest includes case notes from state courts across the country on various topics of law that provide background, analysis and citations to relevant cases, to enable a researcher to learn more about different legal topics.

Lahaina Public Library obtained this extensive collection of law books from the Third Circuit Court in Kona with financial and technical assistance from the North Beach West Maui Benefit Fund.

These resources are a gateway into learning more about the law and add to the online legal resources also available at Lahaina Public Library to help residents learn more about the court process and legal research – notably through the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii’s online legal resource site at _www.lawhelp.org/HI_.

With the combined resources now available, litigants in cases before Lahaina District Court have the opportunity to conduct a broader range of legal research before needing to travel to the law library or self-help center at the Second Circuit Court in Wailuku.

Representatives from the Second Circuit Court, Hawaii State Public Library System and North Beach West Maui Benefit Fund last week Friday formally opened the collection to the public.

The addition of the American Law Report Digests supplement Lahaina Public Library’s current legal holdings, which include the Hawaii Revised Statutes, Maui County Code, recent editions of the Hawaii Session Laws, and the Proceedings of the Charter Commissions of Maui.

Further legal information help can be found at the Self-Help Center in Wailuku, which is open Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

The center is staffed by volunteer attorneys and AmeriCorps advocates who provide legal information and resources.

The purpose of the North Beach West Maui Benefit Fund (www.northbeachmaui.org) is: “To make contributions for and administer designated improvement projects for the public benefit, including land acquisition, improvement of coastal resources, roadway improvements and other appropriate benefits of the North Beach-West Maui area and communities.”