Law Student's Guide to the Law Library

Borrowing Privileges

On-Campus Libraries:

To check out materials from the Law Library or other libraries on campus, you will need to present your current U Card.

Other Law Libraries in the Twin Cities Metro Area:

Information on borrowing privileges at law school libraries in the Twin Cities (Mitchell Hamline and St. Thomas) and at the Minnesota State Law Library and metro area county law libraries is available in the document below.

Overdue Materials and Fines Policy 

While Law Library borrowers are expected to return materials on or before the due date, we understand that circumstances can sometimes make that difficult.

The following overdue charges accrue on patrons' accounts when materials are not returned by the due date/time:

All long overdue library materials eventually accrue replacement and processing fees.  This may lead to blocked library or student accounts. A book is considered “lost” when the book becomes overdue by 30 days. In such an instance, a bill will be issued for the replacement cost ($100.00). If you should receive a bill and have the book in question, you may return the item within three months to avoid paying the replacement charge. 

If you lose a Law Library item, please contact the circulation desk. Our goal is to find the material and we will be happy to search our shelves or extend time for you to search your home or office. If the item is not found, we will generate a bill and will expect you to bear the cost of replacement. 

User with unpaid charges meeting or exceeding $10.00 are blocked from borrowing further library materials, until the balance is resolved.  If this balance reaches $100.00 students will receive an academic hold, which prevents registering for courses, requesting transcripts, and receiving a diploma. Users are responsible for the materials on their library account, even if they were borrowed on behalf of another person. 

Please direct all questions about Law Library charges to the circulation desk at 612-625-4300 or lawcirc@umn.edu.

Note: We can only discuss fines for Law Library items.  For all other fines, please contact Wilson Library at fines@umn.edu or 612-624-3321 

Loan Periods

Loan periods vary based on the type of item charged. Not all Law Library materials circulate. Please check at the circulation desk for details or consult our Loan Periods table.

Any book is subject to recall after two weeks if needed by another patron. If needed by a faculty member or for course reserve, it may be recalled immediately.

Renewing Materials

Materials may be renewed online through "Your Account" on MNCAT. 

Reserves collection materials may not be renewed. You must return them to the circulation desk after the three-hour loan period and ask to check the item out again.

Please renew your material on or before the due date. Renewals may be requested via:

• Web: via MNCAT (Select "Your Account" from the top of the of the page.)
• Email: lawcirc@umn.edu
• Telephone: 612-625-4300
• U.S. or Campus mail
• In-person

We regret that books cannot be renewed if a recall or hold has been placed on the item.

Get-It Book Delivery

Don't have time to walk across campus to get the book you need for a paper? Use the Get-It service!

Current students, faculty, and staff can request books from the University Libraries and have them delivered to the library of their choice.

Faculty and staff are eligible for on-campus office delivery.

Learn how to place a Get It request.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Services

Sometimes you will need a book that is not owned by the Law Library or University of Minnesota library system. In that case, you are encouraged to use our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service! Note: It may take as long as a few days to several weeks for ILL materials to arrive. You will receive an email message once the item arrives.

To place an interlibrary loan request, please contact the Law Library's Interlibrary Loan Librarian at: x-asap@umn.edu

​​​​​​​Please indicate the following in your message:

• Whether your request is for a loan or a copy/scan.
• For books please include:
  • Author, title, (edition &/or year of publication)
  • If you only need a copy of a specific chapter(s) or sections of a book include: chapter, section and/or page numbers as appropriate.
• For journals/newsletter periodical articles please include:
  • journal title, volume & issue number, year of publication
  • article title & author, and page number(s).
• For newspaper articles include:
  • newspaper title, date, article title and author/byline, section and page number(s)

If you need help finding any of the above information, contact a reference librarian.

If you have any questions consult the ILL FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions About Interlibrary Loans or contact David Zopfi-Jordan at x-asap@umn.edu or 612-625-9534.

Get Digital Copies of Items Held at Libraries on Campus

The Law Library offers a digitization service for law students to request digitized copies of small portions of printed materials (articles, book chapters) held by the Law Library or other libraries on the Twin Cities campus. Requests will be filled within 1-10 days, but typically within 48 hours.

Please note the following exceptions:

• Rare or fragile items are not available for scanning.
• Reserve items are not available for scanning.
• Copyright restrictions may limit the fulfillment of certain requests.
• If the item is not available on campus, we will initiate an interlibrary loan copy request for the item. Interlibrary loan requests may take longer than 10 days (subject to the response times of other libraries).
• Due to the high volume of material required for source-gathering, law journal staff members are encouraged to copy materials for cite checking when possible. Requests related to source-gathering may take longer than 10 days.  

Digital copy requests may be submitted by email to x-asap@umn.edu. Please indicate the following in your message:

• For copies from a book please include:
  • Author, title, (edition &/or year of publication)
  • The specific chapter or section(s) and/or page numbers as apporpriate
• For journals/newsletter periodical articles please include:
  • journal title, volume, & issue number, year of publication
  • article title, author and page number(s)

Other Campus Library Resources

University of Minnesota Law Students are eligible to borrow materials from other on-campus libraries, as well as from coordinate campuses in Duluth, Morris, Crookston, and Rochester. 

Please visit the University Libraries website for additional information on other campus library resources. 

Questions?

Have questions regarding our circulation services and policies? Please contact our Access Services Librarian, Katie Baratto, at barat013@umn.edu or 612-625-1547.