Bemidji Public Library Partners With Minnesota Legal Services Coalition

The Bemidji Public Library has partnered with the Minnesota Legal Service Coalition to help bridge the digital divide that community members are facing during COVID. As a result of the pandemic, many legal services and hearings have been moved to online formats. Court hearings are held over Zoom, and paperwork must be scanned and emailed, putting people who do not have access to technology at a disadvantage.

This partnership has brought a way to bridge this digital to divide to Bemidji. The library now has a legal kiosk system that provides free legal services to the community. Anyone can now attend a Zoom court hearing, print and scan documents for free, and get online legal advice and connections to legal services using a dedicated system. The Kiosk is open by appointment or walkup and can be reserved by calling the library at 218.751.3963 by anyone who needs to access legal forms or attend a court hearing. Please be aware that library staff is unable to give legal advice.

The Bemidji Public Library is proud to partner the with Minnesota Legal Service Coalition to help bring legal assistance to Bemidji. The growing digital divide is causing real problems in our community and this project will help to bridge that gap. If you know of an orginization who would also like a Legal Kiosk, please contact call 720.409.7605.