What is a law library and what do they provide?
There are three forms of law libraries: academic, government, and private. Academic law libraries focus on working with law professors and law students in academic settings. Government law libraries “serve the legal information needs of government entities” at federal, provincial, or municipal levels. Private law libraries operate in law firms or legal departments of a corporation or other association. (American Association of Law Libraries)
Librarians or library technicians within a law library offer assistance with reference and research and processing and cataloging of library materials. (American Association of Law Libraries)
Examples of law libraries:
Law Library at Allard Hall: Located at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC this is an academic law library. They support reference and research for students and faculty within the Allard School of Law at UBC and other members of the university. According to its website, the law library has a comprehensive research collection. They acquire primary and secondary legal materials from countries around the world such as Canada the United States, the United Kingdom, and many more.
Courthouse Libraries BC: Courthouse Libraries BC has numerous locations throughout the province of British Columbia. They have two resource libraries in Vancouver and Victoria. They also have Regional and Local libraries throughout numerous cities and towns in British Columbia. The Courthouse Library’s mission is to “help lawyers and the community find and use legal information.”
Law Library of Congress: Located in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, USA. They are the largest law library in the world with a collection of over 2.65 million volumes “spanning ages and covering virtually every jurisdiction in the world.”
Medical and Law Libraries Career Guide 