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The Indiana General Assembly has passed the Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act (UELMA), legislation advocated for by Ben Keele, associate director of the Ruth Lilly Law Library at IU McKinney. Keele also serves as chair of the Mid-America Association of Law Libraries UELMA task force.

The law had been adopted in 21 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands prior to Indiana’s passage. UEMLA lays out the format to make digital copies of laws official. Once official digital copies of laws are published, three requirements must be met: state government must authenticate it, preserve it, and permit public access. “As state governments began posting their laws online, law librarians found it was unclear whether these versions were official, and some states took down old versions, preventing historical research,” Keele said. “Law librarians joined with the Uniform Law Commission to develop a statutory solution, resulting in UELMA.”

Keele testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of Senate Bill 131, introduced by Sen. Aaron Freeman, on January 12. (His comments come at the 50-minute mark.) In his role at IU McKinney, Keele also is a lecturer in law, teaching IU McKinney students how to access and evaluate legal information as part of their law practice. He also helps legal professionals find answers to their research questions.

“For both novice and experienced researchers, I emphasize checking for indicators of authority and reliability, especially when dealing with binding legal materials such as statutes, judicial opinions, and administrative regulations,” Keele said in his testimony. “With print materials, this means checking that it was published by a government agency or reputable publisher and looking for a seal or certification.”

The move supports modernization of government information and services, increases public access, and makes government services more resilient against disruption in libraries and government agencies, Keele also pointed out in his testimony.

The legislation passed the Senate on January 20 and passed the Indiana House of Representatives on February 15. It was signed by Governor Eric Holcomb on March 7. “Indiana citizens and anyone interested in Indiana’s laws will benefit from online public access to official, authentic, and preserved legal information,” Keele said.