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Services for Faculty
The Law Library recognizes the special needs of law faculty. It is our goal to provide services that faculty need to carry out the academic mission of the law school and to support all scholarly and research activities. Information about faculty services is given below. If you cannot locate an answer to a specific question, you might try the Frequently Asked Questions. The Law Library's Faculty Liaison is Darcy Kirk, Associate Dean for Library & Technology (860-570-5109). Please contact her for services you may need that are not covered in this document, or to discuss any aspect of library policies and services.
- Book Purchases
- Borrowing Privileges
- Cataloging
- Collection
- Computer Services
- Copy Card Form
- Current Awareness Services
- Electronic Resources
- Faculty Liaison
- Facserv
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Gifts
- Hours
- Interlibrary Loan
- Library Service Standards
- Library Staff
- Photocopying and Book Delivery
- Policies
- Reference Help
- Request a Book or Article
- Research Lectures
- Research Assistant Form
- Reserve
- Routing Material
- Who to Contact for What
Hours
Detailed information about library hours (such as deviations from the above schedule due to holidays and intersession periods) can be found on the annual calendar.
Facserv
Faculty requests to the email address facserv will be handled by reference librarians and library student research assistants under their supervision. Requests for photocopies of items the library owns, requests for delivery of books that the library owns, and requests for short-term research projects all should be directed to facserv. Often faculty members have a need for assistance on a small research project that would not require the attention of a personal research assistant for an entire semester, and is facserv designed to meet that need.
Borrowing Privileges
Law School faculty have special borrowing privileges at the Law Library. To request a book or item from the collection, faculty members may phone the Circulation Desk at 860-570-5012, email facserv, or come to the Circulation Desk on the third (main) floor of the library.
Research Assistants may check out material on behalf of the faculty member they work with for one semester. Research Assistant Registration forms to enable research assistants to check out materials for their professors are available from the Circulation Desk.
Faculty members may also check books out from the Homer Babbidge Library by simply presenting a faculty ID card. Located on the Storrs Campus of the University of Connecticut, the Homer Babbidge Library serves as the University's general academic library, and its fine collection may contain non-law items not available at the Law Library. Information about borrowing privileges at other area libraries may be obtained from Darcy Kirk, Associate Dean for Library & Technology (860-570-5109).
Collection
The Law Library is one of the largest legal research and technology centers in the world, with more than 450,000 volumes housed in the 120,000-square-foot facility and more than 70,000 linear feet of shelving. Collections include federal and state statutes as well as judicial opinions, treatises, and other primary sources. There is also a growing collection of international legal materials and U.S. government publications, as well as a substantial insurance law collection.
To find out if the Library has a particular item, consult the online catalog, contact the Reference Desk (860-570-5068), or email facserv.
Reserve
A Permanent Reserve collection is housed behind the Circulation Desk. The Permanent Reserve collection contains current editions of hornbooks, casebooks, frequently used treatises, looseleafs, Connecticut materials and non-print materials such as DVDs, or video and audio tapes.
The Course Reserve collection, also housed behind the Circulation Desk, contains books and articles for class assignments made by any teaching faculty. Course Reserve materials may be checked out by law students for a period of two hours during the day and overnight. To place materials on Course Reserve, complete the Reserve Request form or contact Josh LaPorte in Access Services (860-570-5113). Faculty are encouraged to send lists for Course Reserve to Josh as early before the beginning of the semester as possible, preferably a month in advance. If faculty wish to place material on Course Reserve that the Library does not own, the item will be purchased if it is available at a reasonable price. Please, note, however, that the purchasing process may take considerably longer.
Reference
Materials in the Reference collection are used for frequent consultation. Many directories, dictionaries, and encyclopedias are found on these shelves along with a core collection of Connecticut primary legal materials. These materials do not circulate outside the library building.
Periodicals
The library subscribes to a wide variety of periodicals that are housed throughout the building. Scholarly law reviews are shelved in alphabetical order in the compact, or moveable, shelving on the first floor. Current issues for these titles are kept in the reserve collection. Specialized periodicals are shelved in the appropriate subject area by an assigned call number, and the unbound issues are shelved with the bound volumes. For example, tax law journals are shelved with the other tax materials in the KF 6200 range.
Treatises
Books on a wide variety of legal topics are collected to support curricular and faculty research needs. Particular areas of specialization in the collection are insurance and international law, but the treatise collection is extensive in other subject areas as well.
Microforms
The microform collection provides access to many materials useful to researchers that are not available in other formats. United States federal legislative history documents such as House and Senate reports are in microfiche. Many other government documents, United Nations documents, and 19th century legal treatises in the library's collection are also in this format. Copies of pages from microfilm and microfiche are available from reader-printer machines in the microform room.
State
The collection contains current codes from all U.S. states and cases from the highest court in each state. The Connecticut state collection is particularly strong. Selected treatises are available for many states that pertain to the law governing that specific jurisdiction.
Federal
The United States federal collection contains complete sets of the United States Statutes at Large, the United States Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the United States Reports. The daily issues of the Congressional Record and Federal Register are available, and backfiles are available in microform. The collection also contains complete sets of materials supplied by commercial publishers, such as the West's Supreme Court Reporter, the United States Code Congressional and Administrative News, the Federal Reporter, and the Federal Supplement. Federal legislative history documents are available on microfiche through the Congressional Information Service.
Current Awareness Services
The Library provides access to three electronic resources to help keep you informed about the latest journal articles published in your areas of interest: Ingenta Reveal, SmartCILP, and the Table of Contents Service for English language foreign and international periodicals from the University of Texas School of Law Library. These services all deliver regular email updates to each subscriber, so the information automatically appears in your email box.
Ingenta Reveal
Ingenta contains current journal article citations from more than 18,000 multi-disciplinary, English-language journals published since 1988. There are about 1000 law-related journals. Ingenta has keyword, author, and journal name indexes, and allows browsing of the journal tables of contents.
The University of Connecticut has a site license for Ingenta Reveal that enables University of Connecticut faculty, staff and students to set up personal profiles at no charge and receive regular e-mail with the material selected in the profile. Up to 50 journal tables of contents and up to 25 keyword searches may be specified for each profile. The tables of contents and search results you choose will be delivered to your e-mail box every Monday. To set up a profile please contact the Reference Desk at 860-570-5068 or email facserv.
SmartCILP
The printed Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP) has been prepared at the University of Washington Law Library on a weekly basis since 1948. Through a list of 100 subject headings, CILP provides timely topical access to approximately 475 university legal publications and other law journals. SmartCILP is a fee-based service that provides automated personalized e-mail delivery of CILP. After setting up a SmartCILP profile, subscribers receive an e-mail message every Wednesday that focuses only on the subject headings and journals selected. To set up a profile or a subscription contact the Reference Desk at 860-570-5068 or email facserv.
University of Texas Law Library Foreign and International Tables of Contents Service
This service from the University of Texas Law Library e-mails the table of contents from over 200 law reviews and other scholarly journals published outside the United States in the English language. The Tables of Contents Service generates between 2 and 4 messages per week, and the messages will be sent to your email box directly if you have a subscription. There is a three-month, keyword-searchable archive of the list postings, and also a list of journals included in the service. Subscription to the service is open to anyone with ".edu" in their e-mail address. To set up a subscription please contact the Reference Desk at 860-570-5068 or email facserv.
Our library collection will have many of the articles listed in these electronic current awareness service products. If your research assistant is not available to obtain the article for you, please contact the Reference Desk at 860-570-5068 or email facserv. If we do not own the journal, we will attempt to obtain a copy through our Interlibrary Loan service.
Photocopying and Book Delivery
The Law Library will provide copies of cases or law journal articles to law school faculty at no charge. If you would prefer a photocopy from the original document, please specify that preference. Otherwise, we will supply an electronic copy of the document. Electronic copies save time and money, but we realize the value of original documentation. Often we will be able to provide an electronic copy from our own resources, while a photocopy of the original would need to be ordered through Interlibrary Loan. In these cases, an electronic copy would provide the information to the faculty member immediately, perhaps while awaiting the arrival of a photocopy of the original.
Library staff also will check out and deliver books from our collection at your request. Please request all copies and books in writing by sending an email to facserv. We will deliver materials as soon as possible. Photocopy orders for lengthy documents must be accompanied by a copy center requisition prepared by you or your faculty support services staff member.
InterLibrary Loan
Law school faculty may request books, articles and other materials that cannot be located in our collection through Interlibrary Loan Services.
Reference Services
Reference assistance is available seven days a week during the academic year. The Reference Desk is located on the third (main) floor of the library. Reference staff will be on call or at the desk during the following hours when classes are in session: 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday through Thursday; 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Friday; and 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Saturday and Sunday. Between semesters and during July and August there is no evening or weekend reference service.
Questions about reference services should be directed to the Associate Dean for Library & Technology, Darcy Kirk at 860-570-5109. Questions about foreign, comparative, and international law may be directed to the Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian, Sarah Cox, at 860-570-5167. Questions about Insurance Law may be directed to the Insurance Law Librarian, Yan Hong, at 860-570-5081.
Research Lectures
Reference librarians are available to discuss subject specific research tools and techniques with a law class at the request of the faculty member. Questions about specialized research lectures on foreign, comparative, and international law may be directed to the Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian, Sarah Cox, at 860-570-5167. Questions about research lectures on Insurance Law may be directed to the Insurance Law Librarian, Yan Hong, at 860-570-5081.
Electronic Resources
Access to many research databases obtained through subscriptions at University of Connecticut libraries and the online catalog is available to faculty in their offices and from their homes. To obtain a password or receive instruction in the use of any electronic resource, contact Simon Canick, Associate Director for Library Services, at 860-570-5098.
Computer Services (Information Systems)
The Information Systems Department of the Law Library is available to provide you with email access, access to the Internet, individualized or group instruction on software available on your computer desktop, and problem resolution for all of your computer needs. In addition, the Information Systems Department manages the student computer labs on the second floor of the law library. Questions about computer services should be directed to the Help Desk at 860-570-5158 or by email to compserv.
Request a Purchase
Faculty members play an essential role as specialists, and are encouraged to recommend new titles and other materials for purchase. Requests for purchase should be addressed to Elisabeth Umpleby, Acquisitions/Serials Librarian (860-570-5007).
Routing Material
At the request of faculty, the Library routes serial items to faculty mailboxes. In order to be placed on the routing list for a serial, faculty should contact Elisabeth Umpleby, Acquisitions/Serials Librarian (860-570-5007).
Cataloging
Cataloging of items ordered by faculty receive priority over other materials. If a faculty order was designated RUSH, the material is rush-processed, checked out, and delivered to the professor's mailbox within thirty-six hours of its arrival. All other new materials will be promptly cataloged, processed, and shelved in their appropriate locations. Questions about cataloging and processing should be directed to Barbara Plante (860-570-5009).
Gifts
The Law Library welcomes gifts from faculty, including journals, hornbooks, casebooks, and texts. Please contact Simon Canick (860-570-5098) for further information.
Who to Contact for What
| Acquisition of materials - faculty ordering | Elisabeth Umpleby, x5007 |
| Catered events in the Law Library | Susan Severo, x5109
Darcy Kirk, x5109 |
| Closed carrels | Susan Severo, x5109
Darcy Kirk, x5109 |
| Copy cards: Research Assistant copy cards Journal copy cards Faculty copy cards |
Jessica Randall, x5016 |
| Email questions | Help Desk, x5158 |
| Faculty carrels | Susan Severo, x5109
Darcy Kirk, x5109 |
| Faculty requests for new materials | Elisabeth Umpleby, x5007 |
| Food - special approval to permit food | Susan Severo, x5109
Darcy Kirk, x5109 |
| Gifts and donations | Simon Canick, x5098 |
| Holds on circulating materials | Joshua LaPorte, x5111 |
| Hours (requests to extend or modify) | Darcy Kirk, x5109 |
| Interlibrary Loan | Andy Joseph, x5072
Morain Miller, x5019 |
| Laptop computer:
reservations setup troubleshooting training |
E-mail LibRooms Help Desk, x5158 Help Desk, x5158 |
| LEXIS | Janis Fusaris, x5085 |
| LOIS | Janis Fusaris, x5085 |
| Missing material | Jessica Randall, x5016 or Circulation Desk, x5012 |
| Network accounts | Help Desk, x5158 |
| Overdue materials | Jessica Randall, x5016 or Circulation Desk, x5012 |
| Password problems (network) | Help Desk, x5158 |
| Password problems (Westlaw or LEXIS) | Janis Fusaris, x5085 |
| Posting signs and flyers in Law Library | Library Administrative Services, x5109 |
| Projector:
reservations setup troubleshooting training |
E-mail LibRooms Help Desk, x5158 Help Desk, x5158 |
| Renewal of circulating materials | Jessica Randall, x5113 or Circulation Desk, x5012 |
| Reserves (course material) | Josh LaPorte, x5113 |
| Routing (addition or deletion of names to lists) | Elisabeth Umpleby, x5007 |
| Routing (delivery of materials) | Joshua LaPorte, x5113 |
| Software instruction (not LEXIS or Westlaw) | Help Desk, x5158 |
| Special collections access | Reference Desk, x5068 |
| Student lounge - special reservations | Susan Severo, x5109
Darcy Kirk, x5109 |
| Study Rooms: | E-mail LibRooms |
| Televisions | Matt Mazur, x5023 |
| Tiered classroom:
reservations technology |
E-mail LibRooms Help Desk, x5158 |
| VCRs, DVD players | Matt Mazur, x5023 |
| Westlaw | Janis Fusaris, x5085 |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I place an item on Reserve?
To place materials on Course Reserve, contact Josh LaPorte in Access Services at 860-570-5111. Faculty are encouraged to get lists for Course Reserve to Josh as early before the beginning of the semester as possible, preferably a month in advance. If faculty wish to place material on Course Reserve that the Library does not own, the item will be purchased if it is available at a reasonable price. Please, note, however, that the purchasing process may take considerably longer.
How do I determine if the Law Library or the Homer Babbidge Library at Storrs owns a book or journal?
To find out if the Law Library has a particular item, consult the online catalog. To find out if the Homer Babbidge Library at Storrs has a particular item, consult its online catalog.
How do I get help using the Law Library's Online Catalog?
Contact the Reference Desk (860-570-5068), or email facserv. Our reference librarians are very willing to make "office calls" to instruct in the use of the online catalog or any other electronic resource.
How do I get a book or journal if the law library does not own it but another UConn Library does?
Contact Andrea Joseph, Interlibrary Loan Librarian (860-570-5072).
How do I obtain a book or journal if UConn doesn't own it?
You have two choices; the Library can purchase the item or the Library can borrow the item through InterLibrary Loan.
How do I request that a book be purchased?
Requests for purchase should be addressed to Elisabeth Umpleby, Acquisitions/Serials Librarian (860-570-5007).
How do I request an InterLibrary Loan?
Email a request to Andrea Joseph, Interlibrary Loan Librarian. You may also request an ILL electronically through ILLiad.
How do I request a photocopy of material owned by the law library, such as an article from a journal?
Please request copies by email to facserv. Material will be provided in the form of a electronic resource printout (where possible) unless you specify a particular format.
Who do I contact for help doing research?
Questions about research should be directed to Simon Canick at 860-570-5098.
What if the article issue I need is not available because that journal issue has been sent to the bindery?
Once all issues of a volume have been received, law journals are sent for binding. Upon return from the bindery, newly bound materials are held in the Bibliographic Services Department for a binding quality check and to be entered into the online catalog and labeled. If a journal is away at the bindery, faculty may wish to consult facserv or Andrea Joseph, Interlibrary Loan Librarian (860-570-5072), for assistance in determining whether the desired article is on Westlaw or LEXIS, or to place an Interlibrary Loan request for the article.