by Michelle Landriault, Library Manager & Association Administrator
Michelle Landriault has managed the L’Orignal Courthouse Library, and provided administrative services to the Prescott & Russell Law Association since the Fall of 2011. A resident of Vankleek Hill, Michelle volunteered her museum expertise for 30 years to successfully establish and develop the Musée Vankleek Hill Museum. Since 2023, Michelle gives popular monthly local history talks at the nearby assisted-living residence, Walford on the Hill. As well, Michelle is the Board Chair of the Champlain Public Library. Handsome Stan is named after the Stanley Cup.
The Barreau de Prescott & Russell Law Association (PRLA) will celebrate its centennial in 1926. The establishment of an Association law library in l’Orignal was the intended purpose from the outset:
“To establish and maintain a law library at the Court House in the County Town of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell for the use of the Judge and the members of the Bar of the said United Counties of Prescott and Russell.”
Five lawyers took this initiative, and became the first Executive Committee. They were Edmond Proulx, Fred William Thistlethwaite, William Robert Hall, Raoul Labrosse, and Herbert William Lawlor. They would go on to have ambitious careers that encompassed election multiple times as MP, MPP; holding the position of Registrar of Deeds; two earned their QC, and, two became local Crowns. Labrosse became a Magistrate for 29 years; and, in 1946 was founder and first president of the Ontario Association of Magistrates.
The PRLA library is housed inside the Superior Court of Justice courthouse at 1027 Queen Street in l’Orignal. Today, this library is available to lawyers and paralegals who are PRLA members, members of the Law Society of Ontario, judges and court staff.
Built in 1825, the l’Orignal Courthouse marks 200 years of continued use in 2025. The square brownstone courthouse with its tin roof held the jail (the oldest in the province & decommissioned in 1998) on the ground floor, and the court room on the second floor. In the 1860s, the addition to the right was made. The right doorway leads to the Superior Court of Justice on the second floor, and the PRLA Library on the ground floor. Today, the jail is a tourist attraction. This 1825 building is a designated Ontario heritage site.
The library is named after l’Orignal lawyer and Crown Attorney Mr. Henri Proulx who was licenced in 1932. He was the son of PRLA founder Edmond Proulx. Henri’s practice was in l’Orignal, and he served as Crown here from 1951 to 1982. He attended the PRLA library honourary naming ceremony in 1986. He passed-away in 1986 at age 85. Henri is still remembered as the go-to legal professional who was a font of local case memory, and the holder of a rich historical archive.
Mr. Henri Proulx (1907-1986). The PRLA Library is named in his honour.
I must point out that our Association is also known as the Barreau de Prescott & Russell. Our united counties is a majority francophone region and unique in Ontario. Our judges, crowns, duty counsel and court staff are bilingual, and our members provide services in both official languages. As well, we are very appreciative that we have members who provide legal services in Hindi, Persian/Farsi, and Punjabi.
I know, from an initial look at Executive meeting minutes from the 1980s and 1990s, that the library fell on hard times. The library repeatedly appeared as an item on Executive agendas for its lack of sustainable funding and the imposed reduction of staff support hours. However, I suggest that these discussions also meant that the library held meaning for the PRLA members. They did not let go of their library.
The Ontario Court of Justice in L’Orignal. These are reclaimed buildings. The corner was a general store and the far right was the Knights of Columbus Hall.
I’ve held the position of PRLA library manager since 2011. The PRLA president was a neighbour, and I caught him pondering a problem. He explained that the library assistant was retiring after seven years of service, and he had no replacement.
The library job provided 4.5 hours per week. As I had a part-time job, I had room for a few extra hours. I responded, “I accept your offer!” In the reorganization of overseeing Ontario courthouse libraries, I worked with LiRN to establish a 10-hour work week for the PRLA library.
When the late Marilyn Elkin was the roving librarian, she paid me a visit. Together, we did an inaugural shelf-reading. Only 2 books were unaccounted for; and, we disappointingly confirmed that our library held no titles from the Core List. I’ve always been grateful for that learning time with Marilyn.
In 2024, a LiRN equity grant helped with building our Core List content. Plus, the new online access to so many titles has bolstered the needed library content.
In the fall of 2024, Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute volunteer Victor helped to ‘sticker’ and shelve books that were purchased through the LiRN Equity Fund grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario.
Education-wise, I studied cultural anthropology at Carleton University. When I calculated that I’d be in my 80s doing field work, I chose to complete three years of Museum Studies at Algonquin College. I worked for National Historic Sites, Library and Archives Canada and Canadiana. I was also Curator of the Musée regional d’Argenteuil Regional Museum inside the NHS “Casernes de Carillon/Carillon Barracks” on the Ottawa River. As a single parent in the 1980s, I worked for a Hawkesbury law firm where my duties included caring for the in-house law library.
In 2024, I signed-up for Brenda Lauritzen’s (County of Carleton Law Association) Mohawk College course, Law Libraries and Legal Research. My Association funded the fee. I am grateful to Brenda for the time and effort she puts in, to thoughtfully read and mark-up all the lessons and essays. Spoiler alert! I passed.
With the 2026 PRLA centennial on the horizon, I am hunting-down library and association documents. A few months ago, a Hawkesbury lawyer contacted Association President Judith Charest. While organizing his files in prep for retirement, he came across early PRLA records. He does not recall how these documents landed with him.
These documents include the first minutes and financial records of the Association. This gives me a good start on pulling together a brief history of the Association and our library. I will bring to this archive, the minutes and reports that reflect the COVID years, adoption of MAG online services, and the advent of LiRN library practices.
There is no question that the library had more foot traffic pre-COVID. Today, the PRLA library is used regularly on Family Court days, and during Family Law Information Centre (FLIC) hours, by lawyers and court staff.
Even as I look to the past, I do think about the library’s future. During a recent nine-week trial, defense lawyers made it their home. The team had their own mobile devices – cell phones, tablets, laptops. What they needed for their on-site work included – a quiet, orderly private space with a locked door, Wi-Fi, a work table, and printing and shredding capabilities. And the reassurance of accessing online and shelf resources if required. They found those welcome services at the PRLA Library.