Occupying four floors in Weinmann Hall, the Tulane University Law Library is committed to providing a high level of service to the students and faculty of the Law School. Patrons must enter the Law Library through the main entrance located on the third floor of the building. The Library lobby, with its oak paneling and large columns, houses the Circulation and Reference Desks. An attendant is on duty at this station during all hours that the Library is open. Reference Librarians are available to assist patrons with scholarly research for over 65 hours per week during the regular semester, and 42 hours per week during the summer months. Reference Desk Hours are posted in the Library and are available on this website. The Library lobby also contains four computer workstations, which allow patrons the ability to access the Library's online catalog, check email, view legal databases, and conduct internet searches. Two of the computers allow free public access to Westlaw with unlimited printing. Library computer workstations are also available on the fifth and sixth floors for easy access to the collection while using materials on those levels.
The warm wood tones found in the lobby are repeated throughout the Library in the design of the electronic compact shelving and the study carrels found on most floors. The magnificent Reading Room, the focal point of the Library, has a soaring ceiling that allows ample natural light to enter the room during most hours of the day. This room is a favorite gathering spot for students who use it for quiet study and to read/prepare for classes. Located in the center of this room sits a pristine statute of Nathan Hale, which found its new home inside the Reading Room after being moved from the courtyard of the old law school building during our relocation. For more than a decade, law students have adorned this statute with beads during the Mardi Gras season and with other themed items throughout the year. Many traditions that unite the student body today find their origins within the Library.
There are four group study rooms within the Library that comfortably seat up to ten students. Keys to the study rooms are available for check-out at the Circulation Desk. In addition to many sofas and arm chairs that are found on all levels of the Library, students study at carrels equipped with lamps, power supplies, and laptop connections to access the computer network. There is also wireless access throughout the building and campus, which allow students access to the Law School network and to the Library's electronic resources, including the online catalog, subscription databases, research guides and selected internet resources.
To support the Law School's eight published journals and the scholarship of its primary users, the Library has 40 designated Research Carrels located on the third floor of the Library adjacent to the federal and state materials. Law students and faculty may check out non-circulating items to these carrels for up to 30-days (reporters, journals, looseleaf volumes, etc.). All items are tracked through the electronic circulation system to allow equal access to the materials by other library patrons.
A Photocopy Room is available on the third floor of the library equipped with three photocopiers, a Value Adder machine, and a supply table where patrons will find staplers, a paper cutter, paper clips and other necessities. Two photocopiers are also available in the Reserve Stacks, and one copier each on the fifth and sixth floor lobbies.
Network printers are available on each floor of the Library and allow students to print from their law school accounts. The computer lab is located on the fourth floor of the Library and is a division of the Law School Computing Services. The lab hours parallel those of the Law Library, and a lab monitor is scheduled to be on duty during most hours of operation for assistance with questions pertaining to software applications.
A complete list of library services is available on the Library Services website.