Law library

Alaw libraryis aspecial libraryused bylaw students,lawyers,judgesand theirlaw clerks,historians, and other scholars oflegal historyin order toresearch the law.Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new laws, e.g.legislatorsand others who work instate government,local government,andlegislative counseloffices or the U.S.Office of Law Revision Counselandlobbyingprofessionals. Self-represented, orpro se,litigants (parties to a civillawsuitor criminaldefendantswho do not have a licensedattorneyrepresenting them) also use law libraries.

Leo T. Kissam Memorial Library, the law library of theFordham University School of Law,also afederal depository library

A law library may contain print,computer assisted legal research,andmicroformcollections of laws in force,session laws,superseded laws,foreignandinternational law,and other research resources, e.g.continuing legal educationresources and legal encyclopedias (e.g.Corpus Juris Secundumamong others),legal treatises,andlegal history.A law library may also havelaw librarianswho help legal researchers navigate law library collections and who teachlegal research.Some law libraries serve scholars from around the world, e.g.Institute of Advanced Legal Studiesin London and theNew York City Bar AssociationLaw Library.

Law libraries in theUnited Statesare usually classified as a type ofspecial librarybecause of their focus on providing specialized resources, as well as their specialized and limited user base.

Mostlaw schoolsaround the world have a law library, or in someuniversities,at least a section of theuniversity librarydevoted to law. In the United States, law school libraries may be subject to accreditation review by theAmerican Bar Association Standards of Legal Education.

Law libraries may be found in courts (e.g.judge's chambers), legislatures (e.g. theLaw Library of Congress),prison libraries,government departments, privatelaw firms,andbarristers' chambers.

England and Commonwealth countries

The interior of the Law Library of theSupreme Court of Victoria

Outside of the United States, the largest and most extensive law libraries are those found in countries that follow the Englishcommon lawwhich spread throughout the world with the expansion of theBritish Empire.These countries include but are not limited toAustralia,Canada,India,andNew Zealand.Law libraries in these countries can be found in law schools, courts, government, private law firms, and barristers chambers.

The largest law library in theUnited Kingdomis theBodleian Law Librarywith a collection of over 550,000 volumes.Outside of England, the largest law library in theCommonwealth of NationsisOsgoode Hall Law School's atYork Universityin Canada, with more than 500,000 print volumes.The earliest common law law libraries were founded in the late 15th century in London and includeGray's InnandLincoln's Inn.

Special collections of legal literature in university and research libraries in England include the Viner collection at theBodleian Library,University of Oxford (the personal library ofCharles Viner,bequeathed to the Radcliffe Library in 1756); a collection of English legal manuscripts atCambridge University Library;theSmutscollection on Commonwealth law, theMaitlandcollection on legal history, and the Clark, Roby and Buckland collections relating toRoman law,all in the Squire Law Library, a department of the Cambridge University Library; and the Slade-Baker collection of correspondence accumulated by the Slade-Baker firm of solicitors in Bewdley which is inBirmingham University Library.

United States

The stacks inside a typical university law library (Willamette University College of Law Library)

The Iowa State Capitol Law Library

Generally

The largest law libraries in the world are found in theUnited States.The world's largest law library is theLaw Library of Congress,which holds over 2.9 million volumes.The world's largest academic law library is the library ofHarvard Law School,which holds over 2 million volumes.By way of contrast, the largest law library in theUnited Kingdomis theBodleian Law Librarywith a collection of over 550,000 volumes.

Broadly speaking, there are three categories of law libraries in the United States: academic, public, and private. Every law school accredited by the American Bar Association houses a law library. Public law libraries are available in many states, often in the localcourthouses.Certain largerlaw firmsmaintain a private library for their own attorneys, but many firms incollege townsand larger cities withuniversitiessimply dispatch their attorneys to local law schools to do legal research.

A typical law library holds a large number of works not seen in other libraries, including a full set ofUnited States Reports,one or both of the unofficialU.S. Supreme Courtreporters,the WestNational Reporter System,theWest American Digest System,official reporters from various states, theFederal Register,volumes ofAmerican Jurisprudence,bound volumes containing issues of prominentlaw reviewsfrom around the country, federal and statestatutesandregulations(such as theUnited States CodeandCode of Federal Regulations), and a variety oftreatises,encyclopedias,looseleaf services,and practice guides.

Large law libraries may contain many additional materials covering topics such as:legal education,research,andwriting;the history of the American legal system and profession; the history behind certain high-profile cases; techniques of oral argument; and the legislative history of important federal and state statutes.

Smaller law libraries usually hold, at a minimum, one unofficial Supreme Court reporter, selected West national reporters and digests specific to the state in which the library is located, the United States Code, a few state-specific reporters and statutory compilations (if they exist for a particular state), and several state-specific treatises and practice guides. Most academic law library websites also contain legal research guidelines on numerous legal topics that are available to the public.

In recent years, the advent of online legal research outlets such asFindLaw,Westlaw,LexisNexis,Bloomberg Law,andHeinOnline(or in Canada,CanLII) has reduced the need for some types of printed volumes like reporters and statutory compilations. A number of law libraries have therefore reduced the availability of printed works that can easily be found on the Internet, and have increased their own Internet availability. On the other hand, some university law libraries retain extensive historical collections going back to the earliest English reports. Many law libraries also participate in theFederal Depository Library Programwhich provides access to government information and documents to the public at no cost. This is particularly true of law school libraries as the library at any accredited law school is automatically eligible to become a depository library under the Program.

Most law libraries are members of theAmerican Association of Law Libraries(AALL).As of 2010, the association has over 5,000 member libraries. Another important association for law libraries is theSpecial Libraries Association.

Academic law libraries

Bookplate of the Rufus King Fund, University of Cincinnati Law Library

A bookplate of the Iowa State Law Library

Every accredited American law school is required by theAmerican Bar Associationto have a law library meeting certain minimum specifications with respect to quantity and quality of materials available.Some law school libraries are kept in the same building as the general library, but many are either in the law school's building, or in a separate facility altogether.

As of 2015, the American Bar Association has propounded rules requiring each law school's law library to include among its holdings the following "core collection":

1. all reported federal court decisions and reported decisions of the highest appellate court of each state;
2. all federal codes and session laws, and at least one current annotated code for each state;
3. all current published treaties and international agreements of the United States;
4. all current published regulations (codified and uncodified) of the federal government and the codified regulations of the state in which the law school is located;
5. those federal and state administrative decisions appropriate to the programs of the law school;
6. U.S. Congressional materials appropriate to the programs of the law school;
7. significant secondary works necessary to support the programs of the law school, and
8. those tools, such as citators and periodical indexes, necessary to identify primary and secondary legal information and update primary legal information.

The ABA also requires a library's collection to meet the academic needs of the students and research and teaching needs of the faculty.

The ABA further sets forth additional requirements, including the requirement that the law library have a full-time director who holds a law degree and a degree in library or information science or equivalent with extensive experience in librarianship. The ABA also requires that the library have sufficient staff and facilities to attend to the needs of the institution.

Many academic law librarians participate in the AALL and specifically the Academic Law Libraries special interest section.In addition to providing library services, many "dual degree" (J.D. / M.L.I.S.) law librarians teach legal research to law students.

Public law libraries

Public law libraries in the United States exist in many states and in federal jurisdictions, such asfederal agencies;manycourthousesalso have a law library.Public law libraries are publicly funded but may or may not be open to the public.

U.S. federal agencies have libraries and librarians who serve the legal research and other research needs of their employees and contractors, but these libraries are not open to the general public without an appointment. The Law Librarians' Society of Washington D.C. has a Special Interest Section, Federal Law Librarians.Some state and federal agencies maintain law libraries focusing on their regulatory areas. One prominent example is theUnited States Environmental Protection Agency,which runs aNational Library Networkproviding access to specialized material to agency researchers and the general public.

TheUnited States Supreme Court Buildinghouses one of the most extensive federal public law libraries in the world, rivaled by theLaw Library of Congress.Strictly speaking, neither the U.S. Supreme Court Library nor theLaw Library of Congressis a public access law library; both, however, are government libraries funded by taxpayers, and accountable to theU.S. Supreme Courtor to theU.S. Congressrespectively. The Law Library of Congress does serve the public through various means, e.g. websites,social media services, and a physically accessible library.

New YorkandCaliforniaare examples of states that have statutes requiring all their counties to maintain a public law library.While New York public access law librarieshave remained relatively small, the LA Law LibraryinLos Angeles Countyis currently second in size behind the Law Library of Congress among U.S. public law libraries, with a collection at just under 1 million volumes, not including digital resources. Public law libraries are available, and in some cases are required, to offer law library and legal research services to the legal community consisting of legislators and other public officials, judges, and lawyers and to the general public, students, and to self-represented litigants. These public law libraries may be affiliated state or local courts. Some academic law libraries provide public access as well, especially inpublic universities.

Many public law librarians are members of theAmerican Association of Law Librariesprofessional association, and specifically in the Government Law Libraries special interest section.

Public law librarians who have written books about providing legal research services to the public and managing public law libraries include Anthony Aycock,Roy Balleste,Joel Fishman,Paul D. Healey,Ellyssa Kroski,Laurie Selwyn,and Virginia Tucker.

Private law libraries

Some law firms and corporate legal departments maintain in-house libraries, the size and content of which vary depending on the practice area and needs of the organization. These libraries would rarely, if ever, be available to individuals outside the organization, although in some locales law firm librarians have informal lending agreements between firms. Private law libraries often participate in the AALL's Private Law Librarians & Information Professionals Special Interest Section.

See also

• List of sources of law in the United States
• American Association of Law Libraries