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About the Law Library

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Frequently Asked Questions

About the Law Library

What is the Law Library of Congress?
What are the holdings of the Law Library?
What is the history of the Law Library?
What are the hours of the Law Library Reading Room?
What is the Directorate of Legal Research and where is it located?
What are the hours of the Directorate of Legal Research?
What type of reference and research staff does the Law Library have?

What is the Law Library of Congress?

The Law Library of Congress was established by an Act of Congress on July 14, 1832 (the Statute remains in force at 2 U.S.C. 132, 134, 135, 137). It is one of six departments of the Library of Congress.

What are the holdings of the Law Library?

Information on the holdings of the Law Library may be found in About the Law Collections.

What is the history of the Law Library?

Information on the history of the Law Library may be found in History of the Law Library page.

What are the hours of the Law Library Reading Room?

The Law Library Reading Room is open from 8:30-5:00 pm Monday through Saturday. Book and microform requests must be submitted by 4:00 pm.

What is the Directorate of Legal Research and where is it located?

The Directorate of Legal Research has a staff of foreign–trained lawyers from around the world, plus a reference collection and several research analysts. It is located in the Madison Building, room LM235.

What are the hours of the Directorate of Legal Research?

The Directorate of Legal Research is open to the public from 8:30-4:00 pm Monday through Friday.

What type of reference and research staff does the Law Library have?

The Law Library staff includes a number of U.S. law-trained reference librarians in the Reading Room, collection service and development specialists, and, in the Directorate of Legal Research, foreign law specialists from around the world and several research specialists.

Last Updated: 12/22/2008