Reference & Research Services

When we’re open

Reference assistance is available during the academic year Monday-Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Reference hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon-Fri during the summer and on certain weekdays when school is not in session but the library is open.

How to reach us

You can speak to the librarian on duty at the reference desk, use the reference desk’s chat service, or call at (804) 289-8685.

If the reference desk is not open, please e-mail reference requests to lawrefdesk@richmond.edu or you may ask about reference services at the circulation desk.

A public use catalog workstation is located at the circulation desk.

The Default Catalog

All University of Richmond libraries share an integrated catalog that unifies collection and circulation information across all the University’s libraries. You can limit your search to just materials located in the Law Library by:

• Choosing “Law Library” from the “Limit to” dropbox with the basic search,
• Doing an “advanced search” and choosing “Law Library” under Location, or
• After doing a search, select “add filter: Law Library” from the choices on the right side of the results screen.

OneSearch

The OneSearch catalog, available from the OneSearch tab, performs a comprehensive search of all library materials, including books, e-books, journals, magazines and newspapers, articles, and multimedia. It will automatically (and transparently) search for articles across a variety of the databases the University of Richmond subscribes to. Using OneSearch can be a good way to start your research, although it is important to be aware that the number of search results can be extremely high. You can narrow down these results using the filters available on the left side of the page.

Course Reserves

To search for materials placed on course reserve for a particular class or by a faculty member, check here.

Finding Journals

If you are looking for a particular journal and want to know either the extent of the library’s coverage for that journal or which database has articles from that journal, search for the journal’s title using the Journal Titles tab.

Get a List of the Library’s Databases

To get a list of the Library’s database subscriptions, click on the Online Databases link on the menu at left. There you will find a complete list, where you can narrow by subject or alphabetically by database name.

The Law Library offers numerous services for faculty, including:

• Inter-Library Loan.
• Liaison with a Law librarian.
• Research projects performed by library’s pool of research assistants.
• Guest-lecturing on research topics in doctrinal classes.
• Table of Contents service listing recent journal articles.
• Scholarship repository for your publications.
• Assessment resources (Ask Joyce Manna Janto for access)

For questions about the library’s faculty services, please contact Sylvia Yanes, Research & Faculty Services Librarian.

The Law Library offers numerous services for students, which include:

• Ask a librarian at the reference desk for research assistance, use the reference desk’s chat service, or reach us via telephone (804) 289-8685, or email.
• Make an appointment with a Law librarian for help with more complicated research projects.
• The Library has twelve study rooms, located in the basement and on the second floor. Each room has whiteboards and a large computer monitor for collaborative work. Rooms may be reserved through the reservation form.
• Course Reserves at the circulation desk. To find materials reserved for a particular class, please use the tool here.
• Research assistant and journal staff training.
• Research Guides specifically on various aspects of the law student experience, including
  • First-Year Guide
  • Research Assistants and Journal Staff
  • The Bluebook
• The library provides research instruction and training throughout the academic year. Sessions include training for research assistants and law journal staff. During the spring semester, the library hosts "Prepare for Practice", a series of lunchtime sessions on an array of research topics to help students prepare for summer (or post-graduation) success. All students are welcome to attend regardless of class year or summer employment status.

Please contact , Joyce Janto, Director of Public & Instructional Services, with any questions.

The Library has produced a wide variety of research guides on numerous legal topics. They may be accessed here.

Introductory guides on Virginia and Federal legal research are available in print at the reference desk.

The library maintains an extensive collection of materials specific to Virginia law, including monographs on a wide variety of topics, Virginia state court reporters, Virginia statutes and administrative materials, and Virginia legislative history. The Virginia materials are shelved in the KFV classification on the first floor of the library.

The library also maintains a collection of Virginia Supreme Court records and briefs.

For news about the library, library services, and featured resources, please read the MuseNews Blog. The library also sends periodic emails to students and faculty during the academic year with news and other resources.

The Law Library’s Special Collections include a number of rare volumes pertaining to the development of Anglo-American legal principles and most Virginia primary materials printed before 1866. These documents are available for inspection by researchers; interested parties should contact Molly Lentz-Meyer, Director of Bibliographic Services, to arrange a time to inspect the documents.

A more detailed explanation of our current archival holdings, including indexes to most of our larger collections of papers, can be found here.

The Law Library also accepts donations of unique documents and private papers from judges, attorneys, or faculty members that relate to other collections already held by the Law Library or to research interests in the Law School. If you are interested in making a donation, please contact Joyce Manna Janto, Director of Public & Instructional Services.