Farish (first name not provided), a resident who visited the Bergen County Legal Resource Center with a colleague, criticized the facility’s current setup and urged the county to add electronic research tools.

Farish said the center took three years to develop and currently resembles “a slightly bigger room with a table and a wall of books.” He told commissioners that paper law libraries are more difficult for lay users to navigate than electronic databases and recommended installing computer workstations, electronic subscriptions to legal research databases, and printers to allow residents to research cases on their own, especially those who do not qualify for legal aid but cannot afford private counsel.

Farish said an initial approach could be modest: workstations and database subscriptions would be relatively inexpensive compared with full staffing. He and a colleague said they planned to visit Morristown’s setup to compare models and expected to report back at a future meeting.

County officials did not announce a funding decision or a timeline for adding electronic resources during the meeting.

Ending: The commenter said he and a colleague will inspect another county’s setup and report back; the board offered no immediate commitment to install electronic legal-research tools.