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Collection Development Manual > Libraries & Collections > Central Library > Law

Law

The Law collection is mostly made up of materials aimed at laypeople who are seeking information about the law, legal systems, and related topics. Included in the circulating collection are self-help guides to various aspects of the law (wills, immigration, changing your name, intellectual property, bankruptcy, landlord-tenant, taxes, etc.), books of legal forms, legal histories, materials on being your own lawyer, and career guides for legal assistants and lawyers. Some scholarly and popular works that analyze particular aspects of the law and legal systems are part of the collection as well. These include works on the Constitution, immigration, war crimes, religious freedom, privacy law, affirmative action, and other subjects.

Reference materials in the Law collection include guides to court procedure, biographies, directories of lawyers and law firms, legal encyclopedias, and dictionaries of legal terms.

The Law collection does not include textbooks, other materials designed for the law school student, or legal databases that provide access to records of court cases.

This collection is heavily used by general readers, people wishing to represent themselves, and people who are interested in educating themselves about a particular aspect of law or the legal system. It is also used by business people, and by high school and college students.

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The library also has United States and Oregon laws and regulations (both in their statute and codified forms), and major reference sets such as the Federal Register, records of United States congressional hearings, House and Senate documents and reports, and records of cases decided in the Oregon Court of Appeals, the Oregon State Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court. These materials are part of the Government Documents collection. Materials on legal ethics are located in the Philosophy collection.

At Central Library, the Government Documents collection is kept in the Science & Business room, and the Philosophy collection is kept in the Humanities rooms.