The Law Library of Congress FY2018 Annual Report is now available for download.

The Year in Numbers

Land grant signed by William Penn, granting 500 acres of land in Pennsylvania to John Dwight, one of the most famous potters of seventeenth-century England. London: 22 March 1686. Kelly McKenna

The Law Library’s Annual Report for the 2018 fiscal year (October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018) highlights the scope of our collections, resources, and expertise, and how we serve and engage with a wide range of users. It includes the following figures for the year:

• 2,954,200 volumes: the largest collection of law materials in the world
• 60% of the collection is foreign law
• 395 legal research reports, special studies and memoranda for the legislative branch
• 1,270 research or reference reports for executive- and judicial-branch agencies, the U.S. bar, and members of the public around the world
• 3,680 inquiries answered through Ask-A-Librarian
• 5,260 participants in 173 seminars and orientations on legal and legislative research
• 18,654 inquiries answered in our reading room, on the phone or electronically
• 38,000 likes on Facebook
• 69,800 followers on Twitter @LawLibCongress
• 53,900 followers on Twitter @Congressdotgov
• 626,358 page views for the Law Library’s blog, In Custodia Legis
• 4,849,707 page views for Law.gov
• 781,148 page views for the Global Legal Monitor
• 327 articles published in the Global Legal Monitor
• 759,798 page views for the Guide to Law Online

Impact

The Annual Report lists the following examples of the impact of our various research publications and resources during the year:

The authors of a New York Times article, How to Buy a Gun in 15 Countries, published on March 2, 2018, relied on the Law Library’s comparative law report, Firearms-Control Legislation and Policy.

Justice Clarence Thomas cited the Law Library’s A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation website in his dissent regarding search and seizure of cellphone location records in Carpenter v. United States (June 22, 2018).

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (115th Congress) cited three Law Library Global Legal Monitor articles by Foreign Law Specialist Laney Zhang in its 2017 annual report (October 15, 2017).

Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) quoted directly from the Law Library’s report, Provisions on Child Asylum Seekers in Selected Jurisdictions, in her opening remarks at a subcommittee hearing on protections for unaccompanied immigrant children (May 23, 2018).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency relied on the Law Library’s report, Status of Lead Paint Regulation in Selected Jurisdictions, containing hard-to-find legal information on 25 countries, and used it to initiate a campaign against lead in paint at the United Nations (September 10, 2018).

Event Highlights

Harry Truman’s Notebook for Kansas City Law School Night Classes. [Kansas City, Missouri, ca. November 20, 1924–January 29, 1925]. Although Truman’s was an administrative (not a judicial) position, in 1923 he began attending night classes at the Kansas City School of Law. The notebook is filled with his extensive notes. Kelly McKenna

The Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia, Fayçal Gouia, spoke at an event celebrating the book, The Santillana Codes: The Civil Codes of Tunisia, Morocco, and Mauritania.

Professor of Law Jeremy Waldron delivered the 2017 Kellogg Biennial Lecture on Jurisprudence.

The Supreme Court Fellows Annual Lecture 2018 featured Justice Thomas.

Law Librarian of Congress Jane Sánchez interviewed American Bar Association President Hilarie Bass on Law Day 2018.

The Peace Palace Library MOU Signing Ceremony, held on July 18.

The current fiscal year, FY2019, is shaping up to be another great period of research, events, and sharing our knowledge and resources with all of our users. We hope you continue to find information of interest on this blog, through our website, and by making use of our services.