The Butler County Courthouse Law Library is closed temporarily.

While the position of law librarian was eliminated by the county salary board at its last meeting, officials are still considering the best way to provide the law library services required by the state.

The county's salary board voted in September to eliminate the full-time position of law librarian and replace it with a part time administrative assistant position in the interest of more research being done online rather than in hardbound books.

Tom Holman, the deputy court administrator, said on Thursday that longtime law librarian Sue Megarry retired in June and county officials decided to take a look at the job to determine the best way to provide services to attorneys and the public in the most efficient way possible.

“At this point we've taken a step forward to eliminate that position,” Holman said. “We think that the concept of the law library will be more electronic than hard copy, but we're still studying.”

He estimated that a final decision on the law library job will be made in three to five months.

The law library, which is in the basement at the courthouse, is now closed. If an attorney or a member of the public wants to use the computer programs inside or access a book in print form, Holman accommodates them.

A full report appears in the Butler Eagle.