UCLA Law Library
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| UCLA Law Library | |
|---|---|
| Name | UCLA Law Library |
| Established | 1949 |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Type | Academic law library |
| Collection size | Over 1.5 million volumes and digital titles |
| Director | Christopher Landau (example) |
UCLA Law Library is the law library of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. It serves students, faculty, scholars, judges, and attorneys and supports research related to American law, international law, constitutional law, administrative law, intellectual property law, and comparative law. The library participates in cooperative programs with institutions such as the American Bar Association, the Association of American Law Schools, the Library of Congress, the California State Bar, and the Federal Judicial Center.
History
The law library began as part of the University of California expansion following World War II and evolved alongside the UCLA School of Law, paralleling developments at University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and Columbia Law School. Early benefactors and legal scholars from institutions such as Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Latham & Watkins, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit shaped its collections. Growth in the 1960s and 1970s reflected increased faculty recruitment from places like University of Chicago Law School, NYU School of Law, and University of Pennsylvania Law School, and collaborations with libraries such as the New York Public Library, British Library, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France aided acquisition of foreign materials. Influential alumni including former California governors, members of the United States Senate, and federal judges contributed manuscripts and legal papers. The library adapted to legal reforms introduced by statutes like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States, and regulatory changes from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Collections and Special Holdings
Holdings include treatises, reporters, statutes, legislative histories, administrative decisions, and rare books related to areas represented by faculty expertise from centers such as the UCLA School of Law's Lowell Milken Institute, the UCLA Center for Law and Policy, and the UCLA School of Law Program on International Law and Armed Conflict. Special collections feature manuscripts and papers from judges and scholars tied to courts including the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the California Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court of the United States. The library houses archival materials connected to figures like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra Day O'Connor, Thurgood Marshall, Antonin Scalia, Earl Warren, William Rehnquist, Stephen Breyer, and cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, Miranda v. Arizona, United States v. Nixon, and Marbury v. Madison. Comparative law resources include holdings related to the European Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and legal codes from Japan, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, France, Russia, South Africa, and Australia.
Facilities and Architecture
The library’s facilities complement nearby buildings including the John Wooden Center (campus adjacency), and stand amid landmarks like the Frank Gehry-designed structures elsewhere in Los Angeles. Reading rooms, seminar spaces, and archives are outfitted to support clinics and centers connected to programs such as the Skadden Fellowship, the Public Interest Law Project, the Equal Justice Works, and externships with agencies like the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the California Department of Justice, and the Federal Public Defender. The building integrates considerations from preservation practices at the National Archives and Records Administration and security protocols followed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for rare materials.
Services and Access
The library offers reference services, interlibrary loan, document delivery, research consultations, and instructional sessions for members of the UCLA community and qualified external researchers including attorneys admitted to the State Bar of California and clerks from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. It supports clinics such as the Immigrant Justice Clinic, the Energy & Environmental Law Clinic, and the Criminal Defense Clinic by providing access to resources from bodies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Labor. The library’s outreach includes visits and partnerships with organizations such as the California Lawyers Association, the American Constitution Society, the Federalist Society, and foundations like the Kresge Foundation.
Digital Resources and Technology
Digital subscriptions cover databases and platforms including resources provided by Westlaw, LexisNexis, HeinOnline, JSTOR, ProQuest, Bloomberg Law, SSRN, and aggregated datasets from entities like the United States Sentencing Commission and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The library supports digital preservation standards promoted by the Library of Congress and collaborates on digital projects with computational law groups at institutions like MIT, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Oxford University. Technology services support research tools from vendors such as RELX Group, Thomson Reuters, and open initiatives tied to the Creative Commons and the Open Access movement.
Administration and Staff
Administration includes directors, subject librarians, archivists, IT specialists, and support staff who coordinate with academic leadership at the UCLA School of Law, the University of California Academic Senate, and campus offices such as the UCLA Library. Staff engage with professional organizations like the American Association of Law Libraries, the Special Libraries Association, and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions to develop policies and training programs.
Notable Events and Contributions
The library has hosted symposia, lectures, and exhibits featuring jurists and scholars from institutions such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, Oxford University, and Cambridge University. It has contributed archival material to research on landmark rulings including Brown v. Board of Education and Miranda v. Arizona, supported scholarship on intellectual property matters involving cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and aided public policy analysis cited by agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Exhibits and donor collections have highlighted figures like Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Earl Warren, and Sandra Day O'Connor.