Library Services to Law Students

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Circulation is located on the 1st floor of the library near the main entrance. The telephone number is 305-284-3563. This is where you go to:

• Check books out. Books check out for 28 days, although many of our books do not circulate at all. Renewal may be made by telephone, in person, or directly from the library's catalog, Baron for an additional 28 days if another patron has not requested the material. Reserve items circulate for 2 hours, but some Reserve items may be removed from the library overnight.
• Obtain reserve materials. The Reserve Collection has items, including course readings, keys to the study rooms (also make reservations for study rooms here), videos/DVDs of popular, law-related films, and the daily newspaper (Miami Herald, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Daily Business Review).
• Ask for help. Circulation staff can assist you in locating items in the library or with issues concerning the library facilities such as temperature and noise levels.
• View Past Exams. The Law Library maintains a collection of past law school exams for students to review at the discretion of the faculty member teaching the course.
• Students can also check to see what material they have checked out of the library as well as the due date for the items. From the home page on Baron, just click on View Your Patron Record. Students must have received a library barcode to take advantage of this feature. If in need of a barcode, the staff at the Circulation desk can provide one. From the patron record, students are able to see what they have checked out, modify their personal information (address and telephone number), save preferred searches in the library catalog, renew material that is currently checked out, and view and cancel holds that are pending for them.
• Other University of Miami libraries have their own, separate catalogs. IBISWEB is Richter Library's online catalog, and CALLCAT is Calder Medical Library's online catalog. (Ibisweb includes the holdings of Richter, Marine Science, Music, Business, Architecture, Math and Lowe Art Museum Libraries.) Law students also have access to databases from other University libraries as well as off-campus dial-up capabilities. See Richter Library's webpage for additional information.

Reference/Research is located on the 1st floor, near the main entrance. The telephone number is 305-284-3585. This is where you go to:

• Learn about research. Reference librarians explain not only what the library has, and where to find it, but also how to use it. Whether you are having difficulty starting your research in general, or you have a question about a specific source, the Reference desk is the place to go. The Reference Librarians' main job is to help students learn and feel comfortable with the legal research process and its materials (both print and online), so please do not hesitate to approach with ANY such inquiry.
• Ask a Librarian. This form of chat and email reference is designed to answer brief reference questions, suggest research strategies, help in locating library materials, and provide referrals to appropriate resources.

The Library's webpage is where you surf to find:

• The Law Library Catalog, Baron, which will tell what items the library owns. Baron can also be accessed from terminals located at the Reference and Circulation desks, as well as in the elevator lobbies on the 2nd-4th floors. For information on how to search Baron, try Using Baron, the Law Library Catalog.
• Subscription Databases are resources to which the library subscribes on behalf of law students, faculty and staff. These databases are also available from off-campus by logging into the system with your law school network user name and password.
• Other useful electronic information, such as Library Research Guides, upcoming training schedules, information about the library, and other relevant Internet resources.

Interlibrary Loan or ILL, locates, for Law School faculty and students, materials that either are not a part of this Library's collection, or are not readily available. The ILL staff borrows these requested materials from other public, private & university libraries. The telephone number is 305-284-3728. The interlibrary loan form is available on the library's webpage.

Video/DVD Collection of Popular Films, a modest collection of law-related movies, is available for 24 hour check-out. All movies are housed in the Reserve Collection behind the Law Library's Circulation desk. The complete list is accessible from the main page of Baron, the Law Library's catalog. Please contact Robin Schard (305-284-6441 or rschard@law.miami.edu) to recommend a purchase for this collection.

Lost and Found is located at the Circulation desk on the 1st floor, South side.

Maps of the Law Library can be found at the Circulation or Reference desks or on the Library's webpage (maps).

Study Rooms - The Law Library has a small number of conference rooms for students to use. Rooms may be reserved up to 24 hours in advance for two hours at a time. The rooms are reserved and keys to the rooms are checked-out from the Circulation desk. Please see the detailed Study Room Policy for more information.

Exams on Reserve - The Law Library maintains a collection of past law school exams for students to review at the discretion of the faculty member teaching the course. The exams are available at the Circulation/Reserve desk. As with other Course Reserve material, the exams cannot leave the building but may be checked out for use in the Library or to be copied for two hours at a time. For more information on the exams, contact the Circulation desk, 305-284-3563.

Finding Materials Not on the Shelves - Students seeking books, journals or other material not on the Law Library shelves have several options. Reference librarians may be able to assist in locating the item or the information sought, or Circulation staff can initiate a search for the item. To initiate a search, please print out the title from the Law Library catalog, Baron, and leave it with the Circulation desk staff along with your contact information (telephone number or e-mail address).

Daily Newspapers - Want to catch-up on news outside the Law School? The Law Library subscribes to the Miami Herald, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Daily Business Review. Borrow one from the Reserve desk for up to 30 minutes.

Law Library News, a newsletter published regularly by the Law Library staff, contains useful information about Law Library services, and techniques for searching print, electronic resources and Internet sites. An archive of previous issues is available on the Law Library's web site. For any suggestions or questions about the newsletter, please contact Virginia Templeton, Reference Librarian (305-284-1927 or vtemplet@law.miami.edu).

Computers - Computers and laptop stations are located throughout the library in specially built and wired carrels. There is also a 13-seat electronic training room (D236) which is open for use when no trainings are scheduled. Every student is given a network account and password, as well as an e-mail account and password. For additional information regarding Law School Computer Resources, please contact Student Computing in Room C-118, or at 305-284-5297.

Training is provided by librarians throughout the year. The Weekly Workshop series offers about 20 classes on differing topics, and students who attend multiple sessions can earn a certificate. The Ultimate Research Refresher, typically offered the day after the last exam in the Spring, is an all-day class designed to prepare students for working in the real world. There are also other training opportunities provided throughout the year. A list of upcoming classes is available on the Training Schedule page. For training on your own schedule, the Training page also has pre-recorded trainings on several topics.

Course Webpages - Faculty can use a variety of course management tools. Most choose TWEN, which can be access through Westlaw. It does require a Westlaw password. Faculty can also use Lexis Web Courses, which requires a Lexis password, or Blackboard, which is available through MyUM. Faculty can also create their own webpages.

Audio-Visual Equipment - The Law Library has some audio-visual equipment to use with information sources in alternate formats. Two microfiche and microfilm reader/printers are located on north side of the second floor, near the microform cabinets. There is also a reader/printer on the first floor behind the reference area. Two television/DVD/VCR machines are also found in this section of the first floor. Headphones for the t.v.'s, computers and audiotape cassette players can be checked out from the Circulation desk.

Telephone Directory