Getting Ready for Final Exams at the Law Library

Restricted Access to the Library

In order to provide adequate study space for law students, access to the Law Library will be restricted prior to and during the exam period to law students, law faculty, and individuals needing to do legal research or use the federal documents collection.

Beginning Monday, November 27th, the Law Library will not be available to non-law students as a general study hall after 5:00 pm or on weekends. As of Monday, December 4th, the Law Library will not be available to non-law students as a general study hall during all hours that the library is open.

During these hours, Law Library monitors will be posted outside the entrance to the library on the fifth floor. Law students--please have your yellow UW Law School Law Student Library Pass ready to identify yourself. (Passes were issued to all law students via hang files during the week of November 20th. If you misplaced your pass, the monitor can give you an application for a new one.)

This policy will remain in effect through the end of the exam period. If you have questions about the library's policy on restricted access, please contact the Law Library Administrative office at 263-7822.

Quiet Study Locations at the Library

While the Grand Reading Room is certainly the most popular place to study, there are many other quiet spots at the Law Library to prepare for exams.

The Quarles and Brady Reading Room on the fifth floor is a good place to get ready for exams. Not only is it relatively quiet, but it is also full of tradition, as generations of law students have studied beneath the J. S. Curry mural.

Another quiet study spot in the library is the Government Documents area on the first floor. As traffic in this area is usually low, students may study here for hours without disruption. Live Law School Network jacks are also available in this area for laptop use. (For the locations of all network jacks in the library, see http://library.law.wisc.edu/information/maps/network/index.htm

Finally, for those wanting a little more privacy, try the carrels in the South and East wings of second and third floors. Tucked behind stacks of library materials, traffic in these areas is quite low. In addition, many are also within easy reach of live network jacks (plug directly into the red jacks in the wall).

There are also several private group study rooms available throughout the library for student use, as well as, a video viewing room equipped with a TV/VCR unit. There are three study rooms on the third floor and two on the second floor. The video viewing room, located on the fifth floor, may be used for study when the VCR isn't in use. For a quiet refuge or small group meeting, rooms may be checked-out at the Circulation Desk in two hour increments.

Good Luck on Finals!

Written by: Bonnie Shucha
Reference & Electronic Services Librarian
bjshucha@facstaff.wisc.edu