Law Library Services
Many important day to day operations of the library are handled by the Public Services Staff of the library. From handling Interlibrary Loan Requests, to coordinating Reserve Materials to checking out books, the staff provides assistance to the patrons of the library. Some of the services provided to the Law Library community are listed below. For a complete list of library services and policies, see the Library Guide which is available at the Reference Desk.
- Borrowing Policy
- Loan Periods
- Reserve Collection
- Missing Materials and Holds
- Lost and Found
- Interlibrary Loan
- Photocopying
- Student Faxing
- Test Files
- Rare Book Collection
Borrowing Policy
The University of Oklahoma Law Library serves both the University Community and the citizens of Oklahoma. Persons with proper identification may check out materials at the Circulation desk. Registration at the Circulation Desk is required of all patrons to check out materials. OU faculty, students and staff must show their registered university ID card. Members of the general public who are at least eighteen (18) years of age, must show their Oklahoma Driver's license with a current address and photograph. The ID card will be held while reserve materials are in use. A military ID will be accepted. Proxy privileges may be extend by Law Faculty to Research Assistant.
Loan Periods
- Undergraduates - 30 days, 2 renewals
- Graduates/Honors/Staff - 30 days, 5 renewals
- Faculty - 1 year, 3 renewals
- Public Patrons - 30 days, 2 renewals
Reserve items have a limited circulation as defined in the section about the Reserve Collection. Reserve items must be returned to the Circulation Desk. Non-reserve items may be returned either to the Circulation Desk, the outside book drop on the south side of the building or at the main campus library. We will renew 30-day materials by phone for a total of three renewal periods. Patrons may also renew their own books through the library's online catalog.
Reserve Collection
The Reserve Collection consists of course materials that professors have put on reserve (i.e., tests, books, photocopies and Journals) and items in high demand such as hornbooks, restatements and nutshells.
Reserve items may be checked-out for four hours. Reserve files and red-stickered Reserve books may not leave the library. Yellow-stickered Reserve books may be taken out of the library and can be used overnight if checked out within four hours of closing. They are due back one hour after the library opens the following day. No more than three reserve items may be checked out at one time. Please feel free to ask a library staff member for assistance in locating these materials.
Reserve items may be searched via the Internet by Students, Faculty and Staff. You may access Library Reserves via the web by clicking on the Catalog button below. Select Reserve Desk and enter the professor's name or course name.
Missing Materials and Holds
Please contact the staff at the Circulation Counter for assistance in locating a book not found on the shelf. It may be on reserve, checked-out or mis-shelved. Please give the attendant the Call Number of the item you can't find. The Circulation Counter attendant can put a hold on an item that has been checked-out. If an item is not checked-out, please complete a search form. You will be notified when the item is found.
Lost and Found
Please check at both the Circulation counter and Student Services if you misplace anything. Floppy Disks are turned into the computer lab. All other items are kept at the Circulation Desk until the end of the semester.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan Services, available only to law students, faculty and staff, are for materials not in the collection of the Law Center Library or other libraries on campus. We can usually borrow materials from other libraries free of charge, but occasionally there may be a charge imposed by the lending library. The amount of time it takes to receive a book borrowed from another library varies, but it usually takes from two to four weeks. Request forms for interlibrary loans are available at the Circulation Counter and must be made in person.
Photocopying
Photocopiers are located in Room 2082 on the second floor and Rooms 3102 and 3142 on the third floor of the Law Library. The machines will take quarters, nickels, dimes or copy cards. Copy cards can be purchased from the attendant at the Circulation desk or from the Plasti Cashier machine which is located in Room 2082 on the second floor. In addition, cash value of the card can be increased by inserting both cash and the card in the Plasti Cashier machine. The Circulation Attendant is available from 8:00 am until closing. The Library does not make change.
Student Faxing
Law students may send faxes of up to 10 pages including a cover sheet. Domestic faxes: the fax may be local or long distance and the charge is $3.00 per 10 pages. International faxes: $5.00 for the first four pages and $1.00 per page thereafter. The Circulation Department handles the cover sheet, collects the payment and does the actual faxing.
Test Files
Test Files are located on the Law Center Computer Network. Files are in a read-only format to prevent tampering and are located on the Law Center Intranet. If you need assistance, please contact a librarian or a computer lab technician.
Rare Book Collection
The Rare Book Room is not open to the public because of the fragile nature of many of the items housed there. Materials in the Rare Book Room can be used only on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. When the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) indicates that an item is in the Rare Book Room, please place a request to use it at the Information Desk or the Circulation counter. Give the call number of the work you want to see and a librarian will retrieve it for you at an arranged time. You must use the rare book in the administrative office in the Law Library.