Web 2.0 startup docstoc began the public beta of its online document sharing service yesterday. The site is designed for users to share professional documents, including legal forms and court pleadings, with one another, with one another. Sort of like YouTube for documents. In addition, the site offers users personal folders for creating their own document repositories.

If this service really takes off with users, it could be a boon for law libraries serving pro se patrons. The docstoc repository offers at least the promise of an online collection of legal forms that goes beyond whatever local court websites deem worthy of posting online. In fact, librarians might want to use the service to collect and post such forms themselves as a way of expanding their institutions' online presence.