Faculty services at the Law Library

Law Reserve Collection

The library keeps a collection of the most heavily used textbooks in the Reserve Collection. Please inform us if you anticipate heavy demand for any items, especially titles on reading lists, and where possible we will place them in the Reserve Collection.

Suggest a book

If you have a title to suggest for the library, please either fill in the Suggestion Book in the library, email us at lawacqs@bodleian.ox.ac.uk or use the Bodleian Libraries online form.

Information skills classes and courses

We offer a variety of classes and courses for students on how to use the library’s resources. We advertise courses on the undergraduate, postgraduate and faculty mailing lists. Please contact library staff as early as possible if you would like us to develop a new course on any aspect of the collections, or any databases, so that we can offer it at the most appropriate time.

The library provides print and online research guides on jurisdictions, subject areas and resources. These leaflets are continually updated and reviewed, and we welcome comments on them from you.

New courses

Faculty proposals for new courses must include a statement from the relevant library (or libraries) outlining any impact on library resources. This usually involves sending a copy of the proposed reading list to the library, which we then check against our current holdings.  

The library always seeks to support faculty proposals. We suggest that you seek library involvement at an early stage, so that any difficulties can be resolved before the proposal goes before the Law Board.

Once the new course has been adopted, library staff will place core materials in the Reserve Collection, arrange for material to be transferred from the Bodleian Bookstack, and possibly acquire new material (subject to funding).

Facilities

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide out of hours access to the library for faculty members.

Teaching facilities

The Seminar Room may be used for meetings and seminars on days when the library is open. It is suitable for groups of 15-18, seated at a large round table. 

The IT Training Room is suitable for teaching practical courses that require hands-on internet or database access. The room may be booked through the Legal Research Librarian (71463).

Photocopying and scanning

There is a Print, Copy and Scan (PCAS) machine for the use of faculty members in the Gallery, on the east side. You may also use the PCAS machines in the Photocopy Room or outside the IT Training Room on the ground floor.  

If you are away from the library and need a few pages from a book, we may be able to email a scanned copy to you.  Please send an email to law.library@bodleian.ox.ac.uk to request this. 

Further assistance

There are numerous current awareness services available online. Please contact library staff for assistance: we are happy to go through the various tools and alerting services available.

If you would like assistance with using any of the databases available, and are unable to attend a session in the library, please contact law.library@bodleian.ox.ac.uk, and we shall come to you.  

Margaret Watson is the Academic Services Librarian. Please contact Margaret if you require any further assistance.