FAQs
General
The UW Law Library is open to University of Wisconsin students, faculty, and staff, as well as to the general public.
The essential mission of the UW Law Library is to support and foster the learning, research, and service activities of the faculty, staff, and students of the UW Law School, specifically, and the UW, generally. The Law Library also serves as an important source of legal information for the State of Wisconsin.
We warmly welcome you to use the more than half million volumes, thousands of journals, and hundreds of electronic resources in the library collection.
In response to a request from the Student Bar Association to provide adequate study space for law students, access to the Law Library is limited during the exam period to law students, law faculty & staff, and individuals needing to do legal research or use Law Library materials, including our federal documents collection.
Limited access typically begins four full weekends before the first proctored law exam. The policy remains in effect until shortly before the last law exam date. Extended hours, during which the library’s weekend hours are lengthened, typically begins three full weekends prior to the last exam. Limited access remains in effect during extended hours.
Law students are given a green gargoyle sticker to put on their Wiscard to identify themselves (stickers are available at the Law Library Circulation Desk). During limited access hours, monitors posted outside the library entrance will ask law students to show their Wiscard with gargoyle sticker. Non law students and those not needing access to the Law Library collection will be directed elsewhere.
We appreciate your patience and cooperation and regret any inconvenience that this might cause. If you have questions about the library’s policy on limited access, please submit them on the Library’s Suggestion page.
- Adjustable height tables – 3 East
- Lactation room (See Asst. Dean for Student Affairs Lauren Devine)
- Large monitors (27 inches+) – study rooms 2384, 2390, 3335, 3339, and the Study & Collaboration Lab room 2387
- Less crowded spaces – First and second floors
- Lounge seating – 1 West and 5 West
- Natural light – 5 West, 3 East, study rooms 3370, 2370, 2376, and 2378
- Private/semiprivate seating
- Privacy pods – 5 West and 3 East
- Study carrels – 3 West, 3 South, 2 East, 2 South, 1 West, and 1 South
- Reservable Study Rooms
- Quiet conversation spaces – reservable study rooms, and the Study & Collaboration Lab room 2387
- Restrooms – 5 South, 3 South, and 1 South
- Wellness space corner (Puzzles, coloring, and more!) in the Study & Collaboration Lab room 2387
- Wheelchair accessible desks – 5 West, 3 West, the Study & Collaboration Lab room 2387
*Note on locations – 5 West refers to the west wing of the fifth floor, 3 West refers to west wing of the third floor. To find these locations, check our Maps, Locations & Tours page.
Rooms can be reserved using the online study room reservation system, or in-person at the Circulation Desk. You will need a valid Wiscard to check out the key for your study room.
Law students may reserve up to four hours of study room time (in up to two-hour blocks) per day.
The Study Lab (downstairs on the second floor, across from the wall with class photos) is also available as a collaboration space and does not need to be checked out.
For more about our study rooms, see additional information about study rooms here.
Three rooms (2384, 2387, 3335, 3339) each have a monitor with an HDMI cord that can be connected to a personal laptop. The Study Lab also has three monitors with HDMI cables.
Law Library users deserve a clean and quiet atmosphere to study. Therefore, food is not permitted anywhere in the library. Insects and rodents attracted by food pose a danger to the library collection. Noisy food consumption also serves as a distraction to study and research.
Beverages in covered containers are allowed, but not near library computers or other equipment.
Law Library users appreciate that the library serves as a quiet place to study.
Please respect those around you by keeping noise and other distractions to a minimum. Talking in a loud voice, audible use of technological devices (cell phones, computers, etc.), food consumption, and other activities that may interfere with others’ ability to study are prohibited.
Check out the UW Student Jobs page, or stop by the library and ask at the Circulation Desk.
You can also email circ@law.wisc.edu.
There are a limited number of Law Library study carrels available to UW Law School faculty, graduate students, and law school affiliated visiting scholars.
Students in the law school graduate programs may request to reserve one for the academic year. SJD and LLM students are given first priority. If there are carrels remaining, MLI students may request one. The Graduate Programs Office will contact students with specific instructions on how to apply for a carrel.
Law school faculty and visiting scholars may contact the Graduate Programs Office to request a carrel.
For information on how to visit the Law Library and where to park, visit the Law Library’s page on access.
Library Materials
Check the UW–Madison library catalog.
Some items, especially legislative materials and other government documents, can be difficult to locate in the Library Catalog. Often the title by which an item is known is not its official title. Or, perhaps, the title has changed or it is available in multiple formats.
If you are looking for an item like this, please ask at the Reference or Circulation Desks for assistance.
Call Number Locations
- A – K: 3 West
- KB – KF 6368: 3 South
- KF 6369 – Z: 2 South
Note: Books with a Ref designation in front of the call number will be housed in the Reference collection in the “Habush, Habush, & Rottier” Reading Room on the 5th floor.
Please ask at the reference or circulation desks if you are having difficulty locating an item.
- Check the Library catalog to view its status. It may be checked out or in use by library staff.
- Ask the Circulation Desk Assistant or the Reference Librarian for assistance. They can help you locate the book if it is in the process of being re-shelved.
For UW–Madison students, faculty, and staff, your Wiscard (UW–Madison ID) is your library card.
Community users can check out materials with either a
- Community Borrowing Card from the UW–Madison Libraries (more information here) or
- Law Library Card**
** Patrons with valid photo identification and a Wisconsin address may apply for a Law Library card at the Law Library’s Circulation Desk.
The card will be mailed to verify the address. Up to three items may be charged while the Law Library card application is pending.
Loan Periods
UW Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students
- General Collection: Semester
- Reserves: 2 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days (depends on the item)
- Renewals: Most semester loans will be automatically renewed until the maximum of 2 years is reached. You will receive an email after each auto-renewal, and be notified of an approaching due date if a loan cannot be renewed.
- Recalls: All items are subject to recall if needed for course reserves.
UW Undergraduate Students
- General Collection: 28 days
- Reserves: 2 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days (depends on the item)
- Renewals: Most 28-day loans will be automatically renewed until the maximum of 84 days is reached. You will receive an email after each auto-renewal, and be notified of an approaching due date if a loan cannot be renewed.
- Recalls: All items are subject to recall if needed for course reserves. Renewals
Community Patrons
- General Collection: 28 days
- Reserves: 2 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days (depends on the item)
- Renewals: Most 28-day loans will be automatically renewed until the maximum of 84 days is reached. You will receive an email after each auto-renewal, and be notified of an approaching due date if a loan cannot be renewed.
- Recalls: All items are subject to recall if needed for course reserves.
- The following services are not available for community patrons: Borrow UW System materials, UBorrow and Interlibrary Loan, Access to UW–Madison licensed online resources from off-campus, and distance services.
Fees and Account Blocks
Lost item fees are applied to loans if an item is not returned within 28 days of its due date. Most lost item fees are waived when an item is returned. However, there can be some exceptions. If you have any questions about fees on your account, please email circ@law.wisc.edu, stop by the Circulation Desk, or call 608-262-1128.
A block may be placed on your account if you have incurred lost item fees. An account block will prevent you from renewing loans or borrowing new materials.
Technology
The Study & Collaboration Lab is located on the second floor of the Law Library, on the opposite side of the wall with the class photos. The lab is reserved for law students, faculty and staff use only and is open during all Law Library hours.
It is designed for group work and collaborative discussion. To ensure a productive environment for everyone, please keep your voices at a low volume.
See the instructions on the DoIT website. If you need assistance, please ask at the Reference or Circulation Desks.
The Law Library does not offer laptops for checkout, but many libraries on the UW–Madison campus do.
Check the UW InfoLabs Equipment Checkout System for laptop availability and location.
Copiers
Self-serve photocopiers are available in the Law Library at the following locations:
- Copy Center (Room 5306) – 1 photocopier
- Microforms (Room 2385) – microfiche reader-printer-scanners
Printers
Two printers are located on the fifth Floor in the Copy Center.
The Law School Copy Shop also provides printing and copying services. It is located in Room 2246, near the student lockers.
All printers located in the 5th floor copy center have the ability to print double-sided or single-sided.
The default is set to single-sided printing.
To change to double-sided:
- Start by selecting print as you usually would.
- In the print dialog box, select the Law Library printer (if there are multiple printers available, look for the one that says “LAW_B&W”).
- Then click the “Properties” button.
- Click on the “Printing Shortcuts” tab
- Select “Yes” for the “Print on Both Sides” Option.
- Click “OK” and then print as usual.
Note: the cost is still the same ($.07 per page/side), but doubled sided printing will allow you to conserve paper.
- Users who would like to configure their Windows, Chromebooks, or Mac laptops (or IOS or Android tablets or phones) to be able to print to the printers in the should follow the instructions here:
- Printing is available for $.07 per page from the printers located on the fifth floor.
- Copying costs $.10 per page.
All printers accept Campus Cash or Print Cash (paying with your WisCard). To pay, enter your NetID and password. To add money to your account, visit the Wiscard Campus Cash/Printer Cash page.
Non-UW patrons may obtain a print card. These cards are available at the circulation desk, and can have funds added with a credit card or with cash using the card kiosk located on the second floor Memorial Library.
Report this to the Reference Librarian or circulation desk assistant.
Report this to the circulation desk assistant or to the Reference Librarian. Although a refund may not be given, an equivalent number of clean copies may be provided.
Questions relating to equipment problems should be reported to the circulation desk assistant or to the Reference Librarian.
The law library has four publicly accessible scanners available for use at no charge.
There is one copier/scanner unit located on the 5th floor in the copy center. There are also two book scanners on the 5th floor in the copy center and one on the third floor near the journals.
The book scanners are especially recommended for bound materials. The flatbed scanner has a beveled edge which allows the user to scan materials with out breaking the bindings. The book scanners offer multiple scan settings, such as choice of resolution and color scans.
The Law School Copy Shop also offers scanning services for $.05 per page. They can scan documents into either a pdf file (not editable) or a tiff file (editable). Scanned pages may delivered as an email attachment, on a floppy disk, or burned to a CD-Rom.
The law library also has a microfiche/microfilm scanner available in the microforms area on the second floor.
The Law Library maintains a collection of phone chargers, laptop chargers, and power banks, along with numerous other non-book items. They are available to check out from the Circulation Desk for 2 hours at a time. See a sample of these materials on this page. For questions, contact circ@law.wisc.edu.