Library Resources

Reference Collection

Special legal reference materials available on the Second Floor are Shepard's Citators, indexes to legal periodical literature, and directories of attorneys and law firms. The collection also includes dictionaries, bibliographies, a few local telephone books and other finding aids of both a legal and general nature. There is also a selection of reference materials available on the Web.

Reserve Materials

These materials are kept behind the Circulation Desk and can be checked out for four hours. A library staff member will retrieve the item you need. Included are: Titles in heavy demand, Faculty reserve items, Prior Law School exams, and current Kansas bills and session laws. A list of materials on reserve may be accessed in the KU Libraries Online Catalog.

Dictionary Stands

A dictionary stand is located on Floors One (in the large study room), Three, Four, and Five. Each stand includes:

  • A law dictionary
  • An English language dictionary
  • Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations

Atlas Stand

Political, economic and historical maps of Kansas, the United States, and the world are found on the atlas stand on the 3rd floor outside the computer lab.

Online Services

Computers in the library provide access to a wide number of databases. Some of the databases are only indexes; others provide bibliographic information or actual data including statutes, regulations and cases. Please see a reference librarian for assistance with any of these services. Some require special passwords for access while others are easily accessed without assistance.

The KU Libraries have subscriptions to a wide variety of web-accessible databases which can be used by all KU students and staff connecting to the Internet.

Computerized Legal Research

The law library subscribes to the LEXIS/NEXIS and WESTLAW computerized legal information retrieval systems that include in their databases statutes, reports from federal and state courts, selected administrative materials, law review articles, and other legal and related sources. Training is necessary and required for all law students taking the Appellate Advocacy course. Instructional sessions for other law students are also available by reservation. Training sessions are conducted regularly in Room 306D.

LEXIS and WESTLAW are accessible over the Internet and from computers in Room 306D and the carrels outside of Suite 306. Students with passwords can also gain access anywhere through their websites. LEXIS and WESTLAW may be used by the KU Law School community for educational purposes only. Any other us is prohibited under the terms of our contracts.

In addition the library provides free access to many government and legal databases by linking these databases to our webpage. Our webpage is regularly updated. Please check it out periodically for new and updated information.

Please see a reference librarian for assistance with any of these services.

Computer Lab

All KU students/staff can access the wireless network within the Law School. Suite 306D houses computers and printers exclusively for the convenience of law students. There are desktops outside of Suite 306. Computers for law students provide word processing, web browsing, and Multi-State Bar Exam Drills.

U.S. Government Documents

The Law Library is a selective depository for U.S. Government Publications. The collection is shelved on the Third Floor according to the U.S. Superintendent of Documents classification order. Most docs have been integrated into the regular collections and are shelved in LC classification order. Documents issued in microform are stored in the Microform Collection cabinets on the fourth floor. The collection focuses mainly on judicial and Congressional materials.

Pam Crawford is the Documents Librarian and may be contacted at 785-864-9264 for further information, or check out our GovDocs Department website.

Microform Collection

This collection on Floor 4 contains selected U.S. Government Publications and legislative histories, Congressional bills and resolutions, Supreme Court records and briefs (1939 to date) , Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations , selected legal newspapers and state session laws (1981 to date). A microforms reader/printer is located in the Reference Area; copies are free.

Rice Collection

The Raymond F. Rice Collection, located on the Fifth Floor, has been provided by the late Raymond F. Rice, Class of '08 and a former member of the School of Law Faculty, for the use of the faculty, judges, members of the practicing bar and visiting scholars.

The Rice Collection includes selected United States and Kansas primary materials, selected primary search materials and major law reviews. Some treatises and dictionaries are also provided for use in the Rice Room.


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