SANTA CRUZ >> In the basement of the county government building, there’s a free legal resource that most locals don’t know about: the Santa Cruz County Law Library.

The law library, which hosts an open house on Wednesday, also hosts legal workshops on divorce, credit card debt, small claims and responsibility for disabled adults.

People regularly drop in for help with issues such as filing a restraining order, transferring property and creating a nonprofit, said Renee Fleming, the law librarian.

“I think the biggest misconception is that we are there for attorneys, and those aren’t the people that really use us,” Fleming said. “We are there for the general public, so they can navigate the court system and learn about their legal rights.”

Wednesday, the library celebrates its 120th anniversary with an open house and talks by board members Austin Comstock, an attorney, and Superior Court Judge John Gallagher.

Gallagher has served as board president for the past six years. As a judge, he can only state facts and can’t publicly advocate for anything, he said.

“The fact of the matter is that the law library is currently in a financial crisis because our budget has, since 2011, dropped from $225,000 to $145,000,” said Gallagher. “And 85 percent of our users are not lawyers at all. They’re pro per (self-representing) litigants in family court and in probate court and in traffic court, trying to survive in a lawyer’s world, where the only resource they have is the law library and the law librarians.”

The library is funded by local Superior Court filing fees. During the recession, the number of Superior Court cases dropped steadily because people couldn’t afford to file, said Gallagher. The law library’s budget suffered.

In recent years, the library has cut its collections to stay afloat. However, thanks to a $10,000 donation, the library has added computers and expanded digital access, to mitigate its losses.

“The law library population is generally not a powerful group of people, so they don’t have lobbyists and they don’t have professional people in Sacramento arguing for more budget,” Gallagher said. “So it’s a struggle to get increased financial support.”

The community has a few other free legal resources, such as nonprofits and the Santa Cruz Superior Court’s Self Help Center, but those have either a narrow focus or income requirements. Around 11,000 people visited the law library last fiscal year, said Fleming.

“People can come in and get assistance, when there really isn’t any other place to get assistance in the community,” Fleming said. “And sometimes people are in the middle of something, but they want to come in and research what their rights are. And we are the only free resource for that, where you can come in and research the laws of the state of California.”

Law Library Open House

What: The Santa Cruz County Public Law Library celebrates its 120th anniversary. Judge John Gallagher and lawyer Austin Comstock will speak.

When: 4-6 p.m. Wednesday

Where: The library is in the basement of the county government building, 701 Ocean St., Room 070.

Details: Visit lawlibrary.org, call 831-420-2205 or email scclawlib@yahoo.com.