Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is an online service of the United States Judiciary that provides case and docket information from Federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts.
The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC), and the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) are working collaboratively to implement an education program that will result in greater public awareness of and access to PACER. It also will result in more proficient public users of PACER.
The program is open to:
- Federal depository libraries
- Public libraries
- Public law libraries
And it builds on training activities already undertaken by libraries as participating libraries are obligated to provide instructional sessions about PACER.
Additional requirements and guidance can be found in the program documentation. If you are interested in participating, review the program documentation below and then register.
Program Documentation
- PACER: Access and Education Program Summary (98 KB)
- Obligations of Participating Libraries (97 KB)
- Session Evaluation Form (20 KB)
Training Materials
- PACER User Manual for ECF Courts, June 2010 (PACER Service Center)
- PACER Training Database (free and populated with data from New York Western District Court for cases filed between 1/1/2007 and 7/1/2007)
- How to Create a PACER Account (SBCLL) (36 KB)
- How to Monitor PACER Usage (SBCLL) (30 KB)
- How to Search for Central District Cases (SBCLL) (305 KB)
- PACER: Public Access to Court Electronic Records (LLOC) (158 KB)