Types of Law Libraries

Academic Law Libraries

Academic law librarianship may be right for you if you find the scholarly environment appealing, prefer working in large libraries, and enjoy in-depth exploration of legal issues.

Academic law librarians are an integral part of the daily life of a law school community. They work closely with law professors and instruct law students in effective legal research techniques. Some law school librarians hold faculty rank, have tenure, and teach courses for credit, and many engage in their own professional research, publishing, and other professional activities.

In addition, academic law librarians perform functions essential to library operations such as acquiring, processing, and cataloging new library materials; managing existing collections; and disseminating information about the holdings and services of the library. Larger libraries may employ specialists in foreign and international law, computer-related operations, government documents, and special collections such as archives and antiquarian books.

Law school librarians generally hold master of library science degrees from ALA-accredited library schools. Law degrees are usually, but not always, required for librarians who work as reference librarians and for some administrative positions.

There are law schools in virtually every state in the United States and the Canadian provinces, in large urban centers as well as smaller cities and towns. Law schools vary considerably in size, ranging from less than 200 students to more that 2,000, and the libraries that serve them likewise differ significantly in the sizes of their collections, staffs, and budgets.

The Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section (ALL-SIS) is AALL’s division that promotes the interests and concerns of AALL members employed in academic law libraries. Visit the ALL-SIS web site for more information about academic law libraries.

Government Law Libraries

Hundreds of law libraries serve the legal research needs of government entities at national, state/provincial, and local levels. Consider a career in a government law library if you wish to support legal research in the environments of courts, legislative bodies, government agencies, or other governmental offices.

Government law libraries are as diverse as the institutions they serve, which makes it somewhat difficult to generalize about their environments and the services they provide. This variety is in itself appealing to many law librarians.

For example, court law libraries are found in every setting imaginable, from federal court libraries that serve large urban areas to relatively isolated county law libraries. Environments range from the majesty of the Supreme Court of the United States Library to more humble and perhaps under-funded local law libraries. Court libraries serve the legal information needs of the judiciary and, in many cases, also the practicing bar and general public.

In the United States, legislative bodies such as the U.S. Congress and many state legislatures have their own law libraries or at least access to government libraries that support legal research. Many federal and state departments and agencies also have their own law libraries.

Government law librarians generally hold master of library sciences degrees from ALA-accredited library schools. Some also hold government and public administration degrees or law degrees, but these are not usually required.

The State, Court and County Law Libraries Special Interest Section (SCCLL-SIS) represents the state and court librarians within AALL and provides a forum in which members pursue common concerns. See the SCCLL-SIS web site for more information.

Private Law Libraries

If private sector employment appeals to you, consider a career as a law librarian in a law firm or the legal department of a corporation or other association.

Private law librarians work wherever there are larger law firms and corporate legal departments. These tend to be in medium to large cities and their suburbs.

Private law librarians provide a broad range of services determined by the size and nature of the parent organization, the scope of their library collections, and the size and training of library staff. Although some private law libraries are sufficiently large to provide support specialization of librarian functions, most private law libraries are relatively small and therefore require librarians to perform many functions such as reference and research, processing and cataloging of library materials, and personnel supervision.

Providing hard-to-locate information on a timely basis is a key role of private law librarians. Typical reference services include database searching, bibliography preparation, client development and marketing support, and current awareness programs. Private law librarians commonly perform research in non-law areas such as corporate, financial, market, medical, and news. Many private law librarians use their Information Science skills to manage their parent institution’s business records, litigation dockets, and in-house education programs.

Private law librarians generally hold master of library sciences degrees from ALA-accredited library schools. Some also have law degrees, but these are not usually required.

The Private Law Libraries Special Interest Section (PLL-SIS) is AALL's largest special interest section. See the PLL-SIS web site for more information about private law libraries.