Arthur W. Diamond Law Library

The Arthur W. Diamond Law Library is located on the third floor in Jerome L. Greene Hall. The library can be reached at 212-854-3922. For hours of operation and information about the library, please visit http://www.law.columbia.edu/library.

Reference

  • General reference services are available at the Reference Desk on the third floor, by e-mail to "lawref" ([email protected]) or by phone at 212-854-3743.  This primary service point provides access to the whole range of law, including Anglo-American, international, comparative, and foreign Law. During the academic year, the desk is staffed from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays; 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Over the summer, our reference hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
     
  • Reference librarians will assist you in identifying and locating needed materials, provide instruction in the use of the online catalogs, periodical indexes and other computer databases, prepare bibliographies, obtain biographical information, and perform limited database searches.

Request and Delivery of Library Materials

  • Requests for material may be made via email to "lawref" or by phone at 212-854-3743   If the item is not held in the Law Library or at another library on campus, we can usually obtain it fairly quickly through interlibrary loan. Please arrange the means of delivery or pick-up when submitting your request.

Circulation

  • Only a small portion of the Law Library's collections are allowed broad circulation, although most monographs can be checked out.  Faculty can check out circulating material for six months subject to recall if needed by others.  Material which is generally non-circulating, such as law reviews, reports, etc., may be checked out for one week provided the material is kept in the Adjuncts Office so that it can be quickly retrieved if needed by someone else.

Reserves

  • Course and permanent reserves are located in the third floor Reading Room.  Listings of course reserves are in Pegasus, the Law Library catalog, by course and by professor. Permanent reserves include current hornbooks, nutshells, and unbound journals. There is a Reserves Request button on the library’s home page – http://www.law.columbia.edu/library
     
  • If you wish to put photocopied material on reserve, please ask the Faculty Secretariat to make the number of copies needed and have them sent to the Library for your reserves.

New Book Requests

  • Please let us know of new material which should be considered for the collection.  Often faculty learn of new books before they are advertised and hear about books not distributed through traditional sources. Domestic law suggestions should be sent to Jody Armstrong, and foreign, international and comparative law suggestions should be sent to Silke Sahl. You may also send book suggestions to the Reference Librarians, who will forward them as appropriate.

Electronic Access and Materials

  • For class preparation, access to LexisNexis and Westlaw can be arranged upon request. Please contact Dana Neacsu (212-854-1345) to arrange for a password or a refresher course.

Online Catalogs

Electronic Resources and Remote Access

  • The Law Library’s Electronic Resources page provides access to a broad range of U.S. and foreign indices, looseleafs, e-journals, and databases.  In addition, a wide range of web-based resources is available through the University Libraries' electronic resources page.
  • Remote access to law databases can be accomplished by selecting the link marked "access from offsite" beneath each listed database on our electronic resources page.  The system will prompt you to enter your lawschool username and associated password (i.e. the same username and password used to access Lawnet and other law school services).  
  • Databases maintained by the University Libraries can also be accessed remotely.  See their FAQ page for details.  Feel free to call the reference desk (212-854-3743) if you have any questions.