The National Equal Justice Library is a unique institution.

It is the first and only national institution in the United States dedicated to:

• Preserving the Past
  by rescuing, collecting and preserving unique materials that document the history of the struggle to provide equal justice for all.
  
  
• Serving the Present
  by making the collections available to the public and by hosting educational programs.
  
  
• Improving the Future
  by inspiring this and future generations of lawyers to serve the poor.

NEJL Collections

The National Equal Justice Library has developed several collections, mostly through donations of materials from individuals and institution, but in some cases through funds raised by NEJL. All of these collections are unique, in the sense of being the only ones of their kind in the United States. These collections are described below.

• Archival Collection
  A unique and invaluable resource for present and future researchers, the archival collection consists of approximately 420 storage boxes of partially indexed papers donated to the NEJL by over 100 individuals and initiations involved in development of civil legal aid and indigent criminal defense in the US .These materials include, but are not limited to, private correspondence, memoranda, organization records, historically significant documents, photographs, and other memorabilia that document the day-to-day activities of the organization's or person's life span.
  View NEJL finding aids >>
  
  
• Domestic and International Publications
  Approximately 1,200 domestic publications and sets of periodicals about civil legal services, indigent criminal defense and related developments in the US and 500 international publications (books, articles statutes, reports, etc.) and sets of periodicals about civil and criminal legal aid in the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries.
  Browse the NEJL Catalog of Publications > >
  
  
• Oral History Videos and DVDs
  A truly unique collection of over 70 video taped interviews NEJL conducted with bar leaders, government officials, pioneer legal services lawyers, public defenders and others involved in the development and early history of civil legal services and indigent public defense in the US. Available in both VHS and DVD format, these interviews will soon be available for purchase.
  Browse our list of oral history videos > >.
  
  
• International Legal Aid Collections
  The National Equal Justice Library has begun assembling a comprehensive library of materials about legal aid in other countries. We are still in the process of building these collections, but are currently pleased to offer the Barbara and Earl Johnson Collection on Legal Aid in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Reggie Directory

A section of this website is devoted to the more than 2,300 alumni of the Reginald Heber Smith Fellowship Program which flourished from 1967 through 1983. Beginning in 1997, the National Equal Justice Library began a project to gather addresses and information from all former "Reggies." This elite corps of lawyers soon became known as "Reggies" and while many remained in legal services, others went on to prominence in other fields, becoming governors, congressmen, cabinet members, law school deans and professors, and excelling many other fields.

The Reggie Alumni Directory, available on-line, is secure and available only to Reggie Alumni. Once you log in you can up-date your contact information and search for other Reggie Alumni.

If this is your first time to access the directory, log in as follows:

Your user name is your first initial, followed by your last name with no spaces (i.e. rsmith). The default password is simply "password". Once you have logged in you will be prompted to create your own private password.