Theodore F Jenkins Memorial Law Library Company
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1802, THE JENKINS LAW LIBRARY HAS BEEN DEDICATED TO BRINGING PEOPLE AND INFORMATION TOGETHER WITHIN THE LEGAL COMMUNITY. AS THE NATION'S OLDEST LAW LIBRARY, IT IS COMMITTED TO PROVIDING VALUE THROUGH ITS OUTSTANDING SERVICE, COMPREHENSIVE ACCESS TO LEGAL AND OTHER INFORMATION, RELEVANT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES AND A HOSPITABLE PLACE TO WORK AND VISIT.
- Income
- $5.4 million
- Spending
- $4.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 91%
- Reserves
- 13 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 66%
- Employees
- 15
- Volunteers
- 12
- Highest pay
- $136,694, co-executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 96 out of 100. Higher than 90% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 13.0 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 30% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 23% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 17% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1591% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 74% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $3.8 million spent. JENKINS LAW LIBRARY IS PHILADELPHIA'S PUBLIC LAW LIBRARY. FOUNDED IN 1802, IT IS AMERICA'S FIRST LAW LIBRARY. THROUGH AN EXPERIENCED, DEDICATED STAFF, THE LIBRARY PROVIDES LEGAL RESEARCH ASSISTANCE TO ATTORNEYS AND SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS (SRLS) VIA PRINT AND ONLINE RESOURCES. IT IS ALSO A COST-EFFECTIVE PROVIDER OF CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (CLE) CLASSES.THE LIBRARY OFFERS AFFORDABLE ACCESS TO LEGAL RESEARCH TOOLS REQUIRED TO PRACTICE LAW AND ASSIST SRLS, SUCH AS BLOOMBERG LAW, LEXIS, VITALLAW, AND WESTLAW. THE LIBRARY'S RESEARCH PLATFORM PROVIDES OVER 250,000 ONLINE TREATISES IN ADDITION TO ITS EXTENSIVE CURRENT AND HISTORIC COLLECTION OF PRINT VOLUMES AVAILABLE ON-SITE. KEEPING WITH ITS MISSION TO COLLECT, ORGANIZE AND DISSEMINATE LEGAL INFORMATION, THE LIBRARY DIGITIZES AND INDEXES MATERIALS UNAVAILABLE ONLINE ELSEWHERE, INCLUDING A COMPREHENSIVE ARCHIVE OF 117,511 PENNSYLVANIA TRIAL COURT OPINIONS, 1,118,995 PENNSYLVANIA APPELLATE BRIEFS AND RECORDS, 2,266 PHILADELPHIA CITY SOLICITOR OPINIONS, 1,374 PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES AND 168 PENNSYLVANIA ELECTION LAW LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES.AS PART OF ITS PUBLIC FUNCTION, JENKINS ASSISTS SRLS WHO ARRIVE DAILY, SEEKING ACCESS TO PA SPECIFIC FORMS AND INFORMATION TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THEIR RIGHTS IN A WIDE VARIETY OF EXTREMELY PERSONAL AND EMOTIONALLY CHARGED LEGAL PROBLEMS INCLUDING EMPLOYEE RIGHTS, TENANT EVICTION, PROTECTION FROM ABUSE ORDERS, DEBTOR/CREDITOR ISSUES, BANKRUPTCY, DIVORCE, AND CUSTODY ISSUES. OUR LIBRARIANS GUIDE SRLS TO PRINT AND ONLINE RESOURCES. SRLS ARE INFORMED THAT THE LIBRARIANS ARE NOT ATTORNEYS AND CANNOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE. THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE TIME WE SPEND WITH AN INDIVIDUAL, BEYOND STAFF CAPACITY. IN 2024, MORE THAN 1000 SLRS VISITED THE LIBRARY TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND WE GAVE OUT 842 FREE FORM PACKETS TO SRLS DIRECTED TO US FROM THE COURTS. WE RECEIVED 637 QUESTIONS FROM SRLS VIA EMAIL, PHONE AND VISITS.OUR LIBRARIANS HAVE BEEN ASSISTING SRLS AT THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT'S FAMILY COURT HELP CENTER ON TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS FOR THREE HOURS WITH FILING SIMPLE DIVORCES SINCE APRIL 2019. JENKINS' LIBRARIANS ARE TRAINED BY COURT STAFF TO ASSIST SRLS IN UNDERSTANDING THE DIVORCE PROCESS AND TO HELP WITH FILLING OUT FORMS. SRLS ARE INFORMED THAT THE LIBRARIANS ARE NOT ATTORNEYS AND CANNOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE. COMPLICATED ISSUES ARE REFERRED TO THE LAWYER REFERRAL & INFORMATION SERVICES (LRIS) OR LEGAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS. IN 2024 WE ASSISTED 994 VISITORS WHICH WAS AN AVERAGE OF 10 LITIGANTS PER DAY THAT WE VOLUNTEERED.FAMILY COURT ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE MARGARET T. MURPHY THANKED THE LEADERSHIP AT JENKINS, THE MEMBERS OF THE STAFF AND THE BOARD OF JENKINS FOR ASSISTING SRLS WHO APPEAR THROUGHOUT THE FAMILY COURT AND IN PARTICULAR AT FAMILY'S COURT HELP CENTER. SHE STATED, "YOUR ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS HELP! THANK YOU." FAMILY COURT JUDGE IDA CHEN REFERS TO JENKINS AS A "JUSTICE PARTNER" WITH THE FAMILY COURT.ANOTHER PUBLIC FUNCTION THAT JENKINS PROVIDES IS FREE MEMBERSHIP TO PHILADELPHIA NONPROFIT LEGAL SERVICE AGENCIES. JENKINS ALSO PROVIDES AT NOMINAL COST MEMBERSHIP AND SERVICES TO PHILADELPHIA RELATED AND/OR BUDGETED AGENCIES, AS WELL AS FREE MEMBERSHIP TO ALL JUDGES IN THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT AND THE PENNSYLVANIA APPELLATE COURTS.JENKINS MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM RUNS ON A ROLLING CALENDAR YEAR. FOR 2024, WE HAD MORE THAN 6,000 MEMBERS WHICH INCLUDES JUDGES, STUDENTS, ATTORNEYS AND STAFF AT FIRMS OF ALL SIZES AND WITHIN A DIVERSE SET OF PRACTICE AREAS. OUR HEAVIEST ATTORNEY USERS ARE SOLO ATTORNEYS AND SMALL FIRMS WHO ARE UNABLE TO AFFORD THE RESOURCES THAT LARGE LAW FIRMS MAINTAIN. MOST OF THE LIBRARY'S ONSITE VISITS WERE FROM FIRMS WITH 10 OR FEWER ATTORNEYS. LARGE FIRMS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE SIZE OF THEIR LIBRARIES AND AS SUCH RELY ON JENKINS FOR LEGAL RESOURCES NOT AVAILABLE TO THEM VIA THEIR ONLINE SUBSCRIPTIONS. IN ADDITION, THEY UTILIZE THE RESEARCH EXPERTISE OF OUR LIBRARIANS ON A DAILY BASIS. OUR LIBRARIANS ARE EXPERTS IN PENNSYLVANIA LEGAL RESEARCH.OUR LIBRARIANS RESPONDED TO MORE THAN 2,500 REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE AND PROVIDED 182 HOURS OF FREE RESEARCH TIME TO THE PHILADELPHIA OFFICES OF OUR LARGE FIRM MEMBERS. JENKINS HAD MORE THAN 56,000 UNIQUE USERS VISIT OUR WEBSITE IN 2024. JENKINS' LIBRARIANS CONTINUE TO PUBLISH BLOGS TO HELP OUR USERS WITH RESEARCH. IN 2024, 46 BLOGS WERE CREATED AND THEY WERE VIEWED 3,972 TIMES. THE TOP BLOG POSTS WERE FREE ONLINE CASELAW SEARCHING: DESCRYBE.AI; LITIGATING ADVERSE POSSESSION: PIRATES V. ZOMBIES, BY PAUL GOLDEN; LAW LIBRARIANS: INDISPENSABLE DIGITAL STEWARDS OF LEGAL INFORMATION; UNDERSTANDING THE COURTS: NCSC VIDEO SERIESTHE LIBRARY HAS 79 RESEARCH GUIDES AVAILABLE FROM ITS WEBSITE. OF THESE, 13 FOCUS ON ASSISTING SRLS. THESE GUIDES WERE VIEWED 70,504 TIMES IN 2024. SINCE COVID-19, THE LIBRARY'S SERVICES HAVE BEEN IN EVEN BIGGER DEMAND AND SOME OF THE SERVICES OR CHANGES WE ADOPTED THEN ARE STILL BEING EMPLOYED. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR CLASSES ARE STILL BEING CONDUCTED REMOTELY INSTEAD OF IN PERSON AND CURBSIDE DELIVERY/RETURN OF MATERIALS IS STILL AVAILABLE. ALTHOUGH JENKINS HAS ALWAYS BEEN STRONG IN CUSTOMER SERVICE SATISFACTION, THE UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PANDEMIC ELICITED MANY ACCOLADES WHICH THE LIBRARY CONTINUES TO RECEIVE. SINCE 2020, THE LIBRARY HAS RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING ACCOLADES FOR ITS SERVICES. SOLE PRACTITIONERS: I WISH I COULD FULLY CONVEY HOW GRATEFUL MANY DEDICATED ATTORNEYS FEEL TOWARD THE ENTIRE JENKINS TEAM. YOU ALL HAVE PROVIDED INVALUABLE SERVICES TO HARD-WORKING LAWYERS, BUT IT IS TIMES LIKE THESE WHEN WE COME TO APPRECIATE BETTER, HOW IMPORTANT YOUR WORK IS TO THE COMMUNITY. I'VE HEARD THAT DEEP-POCKETED FIRMS WISELY RELY ON YOU; BUT YOUR ROLE IS EVEN MORE CRUCIAL TO SOLE PRACTITIONERS AND SMALL-FIRM ATTORNEYS . IN MY EXPERIENCE, ATTORNEYS FROM PHILLY AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY CITE JENKINS AS THE GOLD STANDARD THAT IS ONLY GETTING BETTER. JENKINS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR SOLO PRACTITIONERS. SMALL FIRMS:
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 1967.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
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