Oklahoma County Law Library to receive bar award

The library and director Venita Hoover will receive the Liberty Bell Award, presented to nonlawyers or lay organizations for promoting or publicizing legal matters.

“It's not about me, it's more about what we do,” said Hoover, the head law librarian for 16 years.

The library, on the second floor of the county courthouse in downtown Oklahoma City, is the largest and most complete county law library in the state, with more than 38,000 volumes. The library also provides up-to-date legal reference materials and many specialized treatises for small-firm practitioners and pro se patrons.

While Hoover and staff members Corinna Patterson and Cecelia Spain do not provide legal advice, they offer a user-friendly environment for people on both sides of the legal spectrum.

“We try to be able to offer some sort of information to everyone,” Hoover said.

“Often it's just where to go in the books to find the answers to their questions or where to find something in the courthouse,” Hoover said.

The Board of County Commissioners also will recognize the library and Hoover, Nov. 9, she said.