Supervisors approve framework to lease up to 20,000 sq ft for San Francisco Law Library at 1200 Van Ness after hours of public testimony

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Subcommittee voted to approve a framework for a lease at 1200 Van Ness Avenue that would provide up to 20,000 net rentable square feet for the San Francisco Law Library and authorize the director of property to finalize terms and file the executed lease with the board for review.

The vote followed more than three hours of public comment on March 27, during which dozens of attorneys, law librarians, trustees and community advocates urged supervisors to secure 30,000 to 35,000 square feet for the publicly funded library and preserve its physical collections and services for low-income and pro se litigants. "If we don't make a serious commitment to having a very robust law library, I think we are failing ourselves in a very grievous way," attorney Brindice Tobin told the committee during public comment.

Why it matters: witnesses described the library as a critical, often sole, source of legal information for people who cannot afford subscription databases or private counsel. Multiple speakers said online subscriptions such as Westlaw or Lexis are…