Library Fact Sheet (printer format-pdf)
The Pappas Law Library is one of the largest law school research collections in the United States. With over 638,000 volumes and hundreds of licensed electronic resources, the law library offers a fully integrated environment for conducting legal and law-related research. The Pappas Law Library is staffed by highly trained professionals, who provide the knowledge and expertise necessary for the optimal use of these research resources.
Housed in three floors of the Law School Tower and two floors of the Mugar Library adjacent to the Tower, the Pappas Law Library provides space for research and study. Reading rooms, individual study carrels and small group discussion rooms are available and there are lounges on the second and third floors of the library in the law tower.
Internet access is available in the Reading Room, the third floor, the annex library, and the law tower by way of the law school’s wireless network. A wireless network is available throughout Pappas, the Annex, and the Law Tower. Both wireless and traditional printing and copying facilities are available on all library floors. Wireless network cards can be purchased from University Computers or checked out from the Pappas circulation desk.
In addition, the law library has numerous desktop computers that provide access to the Internet, hundreds of web based licensed legal research products, LexisNexis, Westlaw and interactive educational materials from the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI). Easy access to these electronic products is available from links in research guides on the library web site and from the library catalog.
Desktop computers are accessible to students in the computer cluster on the library’s second floor. BU School of Law students and alumni may also use the three computer labs on the third floor, when they are not being used for training. Workstations in the third floor labs also provide access to word processing and related software.
The library's resources include state and federal case law, statutes, legislative history, regulations and administrative law materials, all significant legal periodicals, and a major collection of legal treatises.
The library has developed an extensive international law collection with emphasis upon materials dealing with the European Union, the United Nations, international trade, and human rights. Additionally, in support of the law school’s various specialized curricula and journals, the library has developed extensive collections in intellectual property law, health law, banking law, and taxation.
To provide for the most efficient use of its' collections, the law library is fully automated with an online catalog, circulation system, and ordering and serials check-in system.
For materials not in its collection, the law library provides an extensive interlibrary loan service. The law library is a member of the Research Libraries Group, the Boston Library Consortium, the Association of Boston Law Librarians, and the New England Law Library Consortium. These cooperative relationships make the resources of many other libraries available to Boston University law students. In many instances, materials can be obtained on an expedited basis. Interlibrary loan service is also available for materials held by Boston University’s Medical Library, not located on the university’s main campus.
The Reference librarians have both law and library degrees and considerable experience teaching legal research in print and electronic resources, including LexisNexis, Westlaw, and licensed electronic products. For law students, the librarians offer orientations, library tours, individual research consultations, and basic, advanced and topical research training classes throughout the year. The library has extensive reference hours to provide daily assistance in the use of its rich and varied collections.
The law library web site provides research guides, links to useful sites and online sources, and additional information on services and research training classes: www.bu.edu/lawlibrary.
August 2006