# The Attorney General of Texas September 20, 1978 JOHN L. HILL Attorney General Honorable Henry Wade District Attorney 6th Floor, Records Building Dallas, Texas 75202 Opinion No. H-1246 Re: County law library branches.

Dear Mr.Wade: You have asked if the DaJlas County Commissioners Court may establish abranch of the Dallas County Law Library at a location within the City of Dallas other than the courthouse complex where the main library collection is housed. You also wish to know. if such branches may be established withii the county at looations outside Dallas, the county seat; and if county law library books might be loaned to other public libraries within the county. Article 1702h authorizes counties to provide for county law libraries “which shall be established, maintained and operated at the county seat” sec. 2. In ordii usage %nmty seat” refers not to the courthouse, but to the town where the courthouse is required to be established, public records are kept, courts hold their sessions, and public officers are required to reside and/or keep their offices. Pitts v. Camp County, 39 S.W.2d 608, 615(Tex. 1930;Turner v. Tucker, 258S.W. 149,151(Tex. 1924);m 149S.W. 810,8R(Tex. Civ. App. - Amarillo 1912,no writ); Attorney General Gpmion WW-254 (1957). The Dallas County Law Library, in our opinion, may be established, operated and maintained anywhere within the City of Dallas so long as it is “in aplace convenient and accessible to the Judges and litigants ofsuch county.” V.T.C.S. art. 1702h,S7. We think the statute permits the commissioners court to establish branches of the law library elsewhere in the county so long as such branches are not inlieu ofthe county law library inthe county seat. In Attorney General Opinion G-3055 (1941)Attorney General Gerald Mann considered the application of a statute that required the county free

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library, established pursuant to article 1677, V.T.C.S., to be located at suitable quarters within the county seat. Inrelating the statutory requirement to aproposal that a county bookmobile beoperated for use inapart ofthe county other than the town serving asthe county seat, the opinion concluded:

We do not think that the Commissioners’ Court of any county has the authority to expend funds for establishing, maintaining and operating a ‘bookmobile library’ in lieu of the regular county library which is to be established at the county seat. However, if the county has established, and is maintaining and operating a county free library at the county seat of such county, then we think the. Commissioners’ Court is authorized to expend funds for establishing, maintaining and operating a ‘bookmobile library’ asabranch or subdivision thereof. See also Dancv v. Davidson, 183S.W.2d 195(Tex. Civ. App. - San Antonio 1944,writ -Attorney General Opinion O-6441(1945). Cf. Attorney General Opinion O3890(1941)(“bookmobile” not apermanent improvement). In our opinion, this statute empowers the commissioners court to establish a county law library for the benefit ofjudges and litigants of the county. Whenread with other statutes, it isbroad enough to embrace the maintenance of branches in other locations within the county convenient and accessible to litigants, and to allow the loan ofits materials to other libraries servicing such litigants, solong as a complete collection is maintained in a place at the county seat convenient and accessible to the judges ofthe county as well as to litigants. SUMMARY Acounty may maintain branches ofits law library invarious locations within the county for the convenience of litigants, and may loan law library materials to other libraries servicing such litigants, so long as a complete law library is

. operated m a place at the county seat convenient and accessible to the judges ofthe county as well as to litigants.

Attorney General ofTexas

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APPROVED:

DAVIDM.KENDALL. First Assistant

Opinion Committee

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