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Law Library Procedures and Regulations

This material is adapted from the Law School Student Handbook.

Access

The Law Library is located in the Law Center, and is entered and exited only through the double doors leading from the main lobby. All other doors are fire exit/emergency doors and are limited to emergency use. The alarm sounds when fire exit/emergency doors are opened.

The Law Library is open to all faculty, staff and students of St. Thomas University, and to the public seeking to use our legal research collections. The public is excluded during reading and examinations periods.

Circulation of material for use outside the Library is limited to St. Thomas University faculty, staff and students. All other researchers must use the collection in the Library. A detailed breakdown of the circulation times and privileges for different materials and users may be found here and at the Circulation Desk. Our primary responsibility is to serve our own faculty and students. However, within the limits of our staff resources, we will attempt to provide reference service to members of the bar and other outside researchers.

It is the purpose of the Library administration and staff to make the holdings of the Library as freely available to all patrons as is consistent with proper and equitable use. Your cooperation is essential. Please adhere to those regulations and rules that are included in this handbook or are posted in the Library.

Regular Hours

  • Monday through Thursday: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
  • Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
  • Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
  • Sunday: 9:00 a.m. - Midnight

Note that hours may change during examination periods, holidays and interterm. Regular, holiday, interterm and examination period library hours are posted at the Library entrance and here.

Food, Drink and Smoking

Non-alcoholic drinks are permitted in the Library in spill-proof containers only(travel mugs, sport bottles, and bottles with pull-up tops - not screw caps). Cans, cups and open bottles are not acceptable. Food and smoking are prohibited in the Library at all times. Before entering the Library, please dispose of all such items in the receptacle OUTSIDE the Library. Because of the potential for serious damage, anyone violating this rule will be required to leave the Law Library. A more detailed policy is contained in the document Access Service Policies, available on the information kiosk at the circulation desk.

Study Areas

Carrels and tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis. All books and papers must be removed from the carrel when you have completed your research for the day.

The second floor level has reading room/study areas, group study rooms and the computer room for computer-assisted research and training. Please maintain quiet in all areas. A more detailed policy on the use of the Group Study Rooms is located here.

Restrooms, Cell Phones and Telephones

Restrooms are located on both floors of the Law Library in the elevator lobbies in the center of the building.

Cell phones are not to be used in the law library, other than in the law library lobby. If users are expecting a call they should switch the cell phone to vibrate and take any resulting calls outside the law library; otherwise, the cell phone should be turned off. A more detailed policy is contained in the document Access Service Policies, available on the information kiosk at the circulation desk.

Public telephones are located in the Student Services offices outside the Library. There are also phones for student use in the SBA office. The telephones in the Library are for staff use only. The Library does not take messages or calls for students and is not able to page students.

Copiers

Copiers are located in the copy room at the rear of the first floor reading room. Copies are 10 cents each. The Library does not provide change but bill changers are attached to each coin operated copier.

Please do not change paper or attempt to clear problems with the copiers. Report malfunctions such as paper jams to the Access Services Staff at the Circulation Desk; they will also assist you with any necessary refund.

Reshelving Books

Please do not reshelve your own materials. Book carts are provided on all floors for the deposit of materials no longer in use and the law library staff will reshelve all materials left on the carts.

Law Library Public Catalog - TOMCAT

TOMCAT is accessible via the Web from virtually anywhere. The Library Internet address (URL) is http://www.stu.edu/lawlib. From the Library URL, select TOMCAT in the options menu. If you need assistance, please ask the Librarian at the Reference or Circulation desk or call (305) 623-2330.

Law Library Network

The Law Library is part of the Law School local area network. Our wireless network lets St. Thomas students, faculty, and staff access information from anywhere in the Law Center complex. On-site terminals are Web ready. In addition, many of our electronic resources are available to students off campus by password protected database access. Those resources include:

The Digital Library

The Digital Library provides centralized access through the web to a range of resources in several areas. In addition to the online resources below (subscription databases), links are available to high quality “free” Web sites. To access the Digital Library, visit the Library Home Page at http://www.stu.edu/lawlib. From the Library URL, select Digital Library in the options menu.

CD-ROM Resources

The Library’s resources also provide access to a few interesting indexes and databases via cd-rom, including:

  • Bibliography of Early American Law (BEAL): Index to early American legal publications.
  • English Reports: Full-text database of the English Reports covering 1218 - 1890.

Unclassified Materials

Much of the collection is comprised of primary source materials such as statutes, reporters and regulations, and of finding tools and secondary materials such as digests, citators and encyclopedias. These materials are not classified but are arranged by form and jurisdiction and are shelved alphabetically. Their exact location may be determined by reference to TOMCAT and the Library Guide which is available in the Library lobby and the Circulation Desk.

Reference Services

A Reference Librarian is available at the front of the Library to assist with reference or research questions during daytime peak use and evening hours. If no one is available at the Reference Desk, see the librarians in the reference offices at the front of the first floor reading room or at the Circulation area.

Reference Collection

Materials in the Reference Collection do not circulate. The Reference Collection, including non-legal resources, directories, and almanacs, is located in the reference desk area.

Reserve Collection

The reserve collection is shelved in the Reserve Reading Room (on your right as you enter the Library). The permanent reserve collection contains hornbooks, and popular treatises. Books and photocopies of materials requested by a professor for a particular course are considered temporary reserve and are also located behind the Reference Desk and are labeled Course Reserve. Temporary Reserve books, study aids, and photocopied articles may be requested at the Circulation Desk. Materials on reserve may be checked out for four hours. No renewals are allowed on Reserve material.

Course Reserve Collection

Course Reserve materials are located behind the reference desk and may circulate for a period of four hours but shall only be used inside the Law Library.

No renewals are allowed on Course Reserve materials.

Microform Collection

The Microform Room contains the microfiche and microfilm holdings which comprise a large quantity of the Law Library collection. Access to the Microform Room is through the Reserve Reading Room.

Major microform holdings include the United Nations Treaty Series; the Congressional Record, its predecessors, and other Congressional publications; the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations; State Session Laws and Court Reports; State Attorney General Opinions and the backfiles of law reviews. Florida material in microform includes State Attorney General Opinions and Florida Supreme Court Records and Briefs.

Consult TOMCAT for the holdings of each title. Staff at the Circulation or Reference Desk is available to assist you in locating microform material and in using the microform readers and printers.

Do not refile microforms; they may be left in a basket on top of one of the fiche cabinets for staff to file them. Copies of microforms are 10 cents a page for patrons other than St. Thomas University law students and faculty. Please turn reader/printers off when you are finished.

Periodicals

Consult TOMCAT to determine holdings and locations of periodicals in the Library. Law reviews are shelved on the 1st floor north, A-N, and 1st floor south N-Z arranged in alphabetical order by title.

The index to Legal Periodicals and Current Law Index (CLI) are specific subject and author indexes to law journal articles. They are located at the end of the journals in the 1st floor south reading room. Access to the web-base Current Law Index (LegalTrac) is available on campus or as The Legal Resource Index on LEXIS and WESTLAW.

Journal backfiles in microform are in the Microform Room. Cross-references indicating microform holdings are on the shelves with bound material.

Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is available for materials not in the collection. The Interlibrary Loan service is available to St. Thomas Law School faculty, staff and students. ILL requests can be submitted online via OCLC FirstSearch or by filling out the ILL request form available at the Reference Desk. Links to the First Search database are available from the Digital Library and from TOMCAT, the Library Catalog. ILL enables libraries to share their collections globally.

Circulation

Most materials in the library collection are reference volumes necessary for legal research. Primary source materials, loose-leaf services, multivolume sets and books in the Reference Collection do not circulate.

Single-volume texts and treatises circulate but all circulation is suspended two weeks prior to and during exams.

A current St. Thomas University School of Law identification card must be presented at the Circulation Desk in order to charge out library materials. Circulating books are charged out for a three week period and can be renewed provided they have not been requested by another user. ID cards are not transferable.

LEXIS, WestLaw & Beyond (CALR)

LEXIS and WESTLAW are computer-assisted legal research (CALR) systems. They contain the full text of documents (ranging from primary to secondary legal authority, news articles, law reviews, treatises, encyclopedias, etc.) and allow flexible constructed subject searches based on any word contained in the particular database.

It has been said, quite accurately, that Lexis and Westlaw are in many ways equivalent and perhaps superior to large, modern law library collections. They are remarkable systems.

Students are trained to use CALR as a basic legal research tool with initial training during the first year of Law School. Refresher courses are available for both individuals and groups. See the student bulletin boards for notices about training.

LEXIS and WESTLAW are available via the Web 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Students are given passwords to use on these systems (for educational purposes) while they are law students.

Today there are many sources of online legal information from which to choose. This rapidly expanding universe of legal information creates complex choices for lawyers. Our goal is to prepare St. Thomas Law Students to effectively use the research tools they are most likely to encounter upon graduation in a practice setting.

Government Publications

The basic federal documents related to legislative, executive and administrative activities are available in the Law Library. Many of these are in microform.

Main Library

The Main Library of the University is a Selective Government Depository and you are permitted to use this collection for research. Books on non-law subjects that are not in our collection are often available at the Main Library. The Main Library catalog - BobCat is searchable from our web page.

Computer Lab

A Computer Laboratory is located in the second floor of the Law Library. This area is monitored by the staff from Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Law Library. The Lab is open to all law students on a first come-first-served basis. At particular times during the year, the lab may be restricted. Signs will be posted notifying users of restrictions. Smoking, beverages, and food are forbidden in the Lab at all times. If a computer is left unattended for 15 minutes, it will be turned off, disks and books will be removed from the desk, and the computer will be relinquished to any users waiting for a computer to become available.

Students should not install any software (e.g., AOL or games) on the machines or change backgrounds or screen savers. Students should not download any files from the Internet. Students should not save any files to the C drive (save all documents to your own floppy disk) as any saved files will be erased when the machine is rebooted.

Unauthorized use of Computer Lab equipment and materials including, but not limited to, copying copyrighted software, is prohibited. Users agree to accept full responsibility, thus indemnifying St. Thomas University School of Law from any costs for damages arising from the operators’ use of the laboratory or materials whether due to negligence or pursuant to the user’s unauthorized use of equipment and/or materials provided by St. Thomas University School of Law.

Users encountering any difficulties in using equipment or software should ask for help. Do not attempt to solve the problem yourself. If problems arise regarding the proper operation of a particular computer, the user should contact staff members on duty as soon as possible.

Suggestions

The Law Library welcomes suggestions from you regarding additions to the software collection, or improvement of Library services, equipment or hours. Suggestions can be posted here through the Library web page or by sending e-mail to the Director (kgruben@stu.edu). Answers to suggestions will be posted on the Library web page. If you have problems, do not hesitate to ask questions. We will do our best to find solutions. Your cooperation is needed and appreciated.