About TTU Law LibraryThe Texas Tech University School of Law Library (“Law Library”) is the largest legal information center in the area, covering western Texas, eastern New Mexico, and southern Oklahoma. The Law Library and its faculty and staff serve and support the educational, instructional, and research needs of the School of Law.
The Law Library’s website offers information about library hours, staff, services, programs, and access to electronic databases.
Students of Texas Tech Law may access the Law Library 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with few exceptions. To receive this privilege, law students must obtain a security card issued by the University police department by contacting staff at the Circulation Desk to find out how they can receive a security card.
Law School ID cards provide law students and law faculty access to the Law Library 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Library is open to the public and members of the legal community during regular operating hours.
Please Note: Special hours are set for holidays and inter-session periods. For updates, visit the Library’s website or the Library Hours calendar.
REFERENCE
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On-Call Reference (Fall Term) |
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| Monday - Friday | 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. |
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Reference services will not be available on University holidays. Check the Law Library's schedule for dates. |
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Virtual Reference (Fall Term) |
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November 24 - 26 |
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. |
| December 8 – 23 | 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. |
CIRCULATION
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Orientation Week (August 11-15) |
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| Monday - Thursday | 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. |
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Regular Fall Term (Begining August 18) |
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| Monday - Thursday | 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. |
| Friday | 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | 1:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. |
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The Circulation Desk will be closed or have modified hours on the following days; check the calendar for details: |
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| Labor Day | September 1 |
| Thanksgiving Holiday | November 27 - 28 |
| Winter Break | December 24 – January 2 |
Law School ID cards provide law students and law faculty access to the Law Library 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Law Library is open to the public and members of the legal community during regular operating hours.
Please Note: Special hours are set for holidays and inter-session periods. For updates, visit the Law Library’s website or the Law Library Hours calendar.
REFERENCE
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Reference |
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| Monday - Friday | 8:30 am - 4:30 pm |
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Reference services will not be available on University holidays. Check the Law Libray's schedule for dates. |
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CIRCULATION
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Intersession (May 12 - June 1) |
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| Monday - Friday | 8:00 am - 6:00 pm |
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Summer Hours (June 2-June 29) |
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| Monday - Thursday | 8:00 am - 9:00 pm |
| Friday | 8:00 am - 9:00 pm |
| Saturday | 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
| Sunday | 2:00 pm - 9:00 pm |
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Finals Hours (June 30-July 11) |
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| Monday - Thursday | 8:00 am - 11:55 pm |
| Friday | 8:00 am - 9:00 pm |
| Saturday | 12:00 pm - 9:00 pm |
| Sunday | 1:00 pm - 11:55 pm |
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Intersession Hours (July 12-August 11) |
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| Monday - Friday | 8:00 am - 6:00 pm |
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The Circulation Desk will be closed or have modified hours on the following days; check the calendar for details: |
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You can also email or call the Circulation Desk:
Email: circulation.law@ttu.edu
Phone: 806-742-3957
For Reference assistance, please stop by the Circulation Desk. You can also contact the Reference Group via email, phone, or chat services.
Email: reference.law@ttu.edu
Phone: 806-742-7155
Chat: Use the "Ask a Librarian" chat feature on the Law Library's Homepage.
The law library has an extensive collection of both print and online study aids covering first year courses, advanced requireds, and upper-level electives. Some of the series we have in print include:
Print study aids are located in the reserve area behind the Circulation Desk and circulate 2 items for 5 days.
The Law Library has rich collections of electronic study aids.
The LexisNexis Digital Library Study Aids collection is provided to you compliments of the TTU Law Library and offers easy online access to e-book versions of over 100 study guides published by LexisNexis. This Law School-wide subscription includes popular and trusted study aid titles, including the Understanding series, Questions & Answers series, and Skills & Values series. The OverDrive ebook platform allows you to create custom tags and annotations to help organize your studies. You may also print ebook content or download it for offline use.
The Permanent Reserves Collection is located behind the Circulation Desk. The Permanent Reserves Collection includes:
Many legal and law-related online databases are within the Law Libarry's subscription. Among the database providers are HeinOnline, Bloomberg Law, Lexis+, and Westlaw. For a complete list of databases, please see the Law Library’s Electronic Resources List.
In addition, law students can also access a wide variety of databases, electronic journals, and e-books through the University Library’s website.
The Texas Collection includes Texas legislative codes, session laws, journals, and historic compilations; administrative code and regulations; attorney general opinions; case digests; encyclopedias; form books; and municipal codes. The collection is located in:
The current edition of the Vernon’s Texas Codes Annotated are located in:
Frequently used Texas secondary materials may also be found in the Permanent Reserve Collection.
Students can also access Texas Government Materials from the following sites
Current issues and bound volumes of law reviews and periodicals are housed in the Lower Level Basement, East Wing. The volumes are arranged alphabetically by title. Law reviews and periodicals can be searched using the Index to Legal Periodicals. The Law Library also subscribes to HeinOnline, a searchable database that contains many law journals, particularly older volumes not carried by either Lexis Advance or Westlaw. The following are a list of databases to search law reviews and periodicals
The Law Library serves as a selective depository for U.S. government publications. You can find information on holdings of government documents using the Law Library’s online catalog. You can find more information at the Goverment Document Guide.
In addition, the University Library houses a full depository, and its resources.
To meet the requirements of the Excellence in Legal Research Program, a student must complete twenty clock hours of instruction and assessment. Each class consists of one or two hours of lecture and demonstration and a skills assessment. The majority of class time is spent practicing practical skills that students will use in practice. In order to earn credit for each class, the student must satisfactorily complete the skills assessment.
Students may begin the program as early as the second semester of their first year of law school and complete the required number of hours any time before they graduate. Classes are offered every semester and during the summer session. Classes are conducted in print research, electronic research, and in general research topics.
When a student completes the program, he or she will receive a professionally-printed certificate suitable for framing and hanging on an office wall.
More details, including directions to register for the program, can be found in the Excellence in Legal Research Guide. For additional questions about the Excellence in Legal Research Program, please contact Professor Arrington, at excellenceinlegalresearch.law@ttu.edu .
Contact a reference librarian to set up an independent research consult appointment for help on your journal comments, seminar papers, independent research papers, or other research projects.
Reference librarians are on call on Monday through Friday from 8:30am-4:30pm.
Special hours may be set for holidays and inter-session periods.
For updates, visit the Library’s website.
Reference Law Librarians have considerable experience providing assistance to all patrons who enter the Law Library.
Reference services include instruction and assistance with:
For reference assistance, please stop by the Circulation Desk. The Circulation staff will call the Reference librarian on duty, if between the hours of 8:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday.
To borrow Law Library materials, students must present a current Texas Tech University identification card to the Circulation Desk staff on duty.
Please be considerate and return all checked out materials on time. Although the Law Library does not charge for overdue materials, students who repeatedly fail to return high-use materials in a timely manner can be found in violation of the Law School Honor Code. If items are lost, borrowers are responsible for paying the actual replacement costs, plus a $10 processing fee per lost or damaged item.
If a requested book is missing from the shelf, the student should inquire at the Circulation Desk for assistance. If a book is missing, it may be on a shelving cart at the Circulation Desk or it may be checked out. If it's checked out, the Law Library staff may be able to obtain the book temporarily.
If the book is not check out or on the shelving cart at the Circulation Desk, the book may be requested to Interlibrary Loan. Library faculty and staff may also be able to direct the student to similar or related materials.
Once a missing book is reported to the Circulation Desk, a staff member will fill out a form and conduct a search for the book. The search will continue until the item is found or determined to be lost. If the item is lost, then the Law Library may replace the item.
If student needs an item that the Law Library does not have, or if the item is missing, the Law Library staff can obtain the item through a database or through ILL.
To place an order for ILL, fill out the ILL request form available on the Main University Library web site at http://library.ttu.edu/docdel/.
ILLs may take up to two weeks to arrive in the Law Library. Although staff will make the best effort to secure your ILL order, we cannot guarantee the item will be lent through ILL. Please be mindful that it is up to the lending library to fill or decline the request. You will be emailed when the item arrives.
The Law Library has a limited number of laptop computers to check out to Law School students. This policy is designed to help facilitate the need for laptops.
Regular Loans:
Fines:
Damaged/Lost/Stolen Laptops:
Course reserve items are held behind the Circulation Desk. Materials on Reserve are available for a four-hour checkout. NOTE: Textbooks are not allowed to be checked out overnight.
The Circulation Desk handles most lost and found items retrieved within the Law School building. If you lose an item in the Law Library, you can check with Circulation Desk staff to determine if the item is in the Lost and Found. To recover the item, you must be able to describe the item accurately and present a valid form of ID if the item has a name on it. If Building Maintenance staff finds items, they turn those items over to the TTU Police Department.
The Law Library staff makes reasonable efforts to locate the rightful owners of lost items. When lost items are turned in to the Circulation Desk, Law Library staff add the item to the Lost and Found database. Items turned in are posted on MyTechLaw under “Library Tab” for students to check. Items are kept for 30 days. Any unclaimed items are disposed of in accordance with the Lost and Found Policy and Procedure.
If an item is marked with identifying information (e.g. name or phone number), Law Library staff will attempt to contact the person. If the contact information is outdated or the person does not respond within 30 days, the item will be disposed of in accordance with the Lost and Found Policy and Procedure.
Any personal items found in the Law Library by Custodians after hours are turned into the Custodial Services Offices where they are logged in on their forms and turned over to the TTU Police Department. The Custodial Services Offices will not accept the following: student consumer goods like notebooks, writing instruments, documents, flash drives, art supplies; recyclable paper; non-University keys; and anything deemed unlikely to be claimed.
QUICK START: LOST AND FOUND PROCEDURES
| Categories of Items Found | Action |
| Items of obvious value like jewelry, laptop computers, cameras, cash, wallets, checkbooks, etc. | Turned over to TTU Police Dept.; held for 30 days from date received. |
| University property, weapons, prescription drugs, and controlled substances | Turned over to TTU Police Dept. |
| Key rings that include University keys | Sent to Physical Plant immediately. |
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ID cards, including: University ID/Proxy card Driver’s license Bank ATM cards |
Depending on type, sent to: University ID Office if not picked up within three (3) days. TX Dept. of Public Safety. Issuing Bank after three (3) days |
| Food products and containers | isposed of immediately if open or too old to be used by a charitable organization. |
| Contaminated items | TTU Dept. of Environmental Health & Safety is contacted. |
| Books and Audiovisual materials | Held for 30 days, then considered for addition to the Law Library collection or turned over to TTU Police Dept |
All 1Ls are assigned carrels by Law Library staff prior to Fall Orientation. The Law Library will coordinate carrel signups for all non-journal 2L and 3L students. The Law Library will coordinate with Law Review and EPJ to assign carrels for journal students. Each carrel is assigned multiple occupants, and no carrels are available to be assigned to student organizations or other entities at this time.
Students must return their carrel keys at the end of Spring semester. Graduating students must return their carrel keys at the end of their last enrolled semester. Recent graduates studying in the Law Library for the bar exam may sign up for a bar prep carrel. Carrel keys will be due the week after the bar exam ends.
Students can keep personal belongings in the carrels at their own risk. Law Library items checked out to students can be kept in the carrels, but the borrower will be responsible for loss of these items. Students shall not keep Law Library items that are not checked out in their carrels; these items will be removed from the carrels when discovered. Law Library staff may conduct periodic, unannounced searches for missing Law Library materials.
For safety and security reasons, only Law Library staff will handle the Master Carrel Key which is used to access carrels when students lose or forget their key. This is considered the “lock-out service.” When a student requests lock-out service, Law Library staff will request to see the student’s ID card and will verify the carrel number checked out to the student. If the student does not have an ID card, Law Library staff may use the picture board for identification. If proper verification cannot be made, then access to the carrel will be denied.
Each student can use the lock-out service up to two (2) times in any given semester. A record will be kept for each use of this service. Thereafter, a $20 duplicating key fee will be assessed. Once the fee is paid, Law Library staff will assist the student with access to their carrel until such time as the new key has been reassigned to the student. When the new key is reassigned, the two (2) time lock-out service limit will renew.
Consistent with University fire safety policies, microwaves, refrigerators, coffee pots, electric heaters, hot plates, or other heat producing appliances are not allowed in carrels or in the Law Library. Items found in violation of the Law Library policy will be removed and brought to the Circulation Desk where the owner can retrieve the item. If the item is not claimed within seven (7) days, it will be disposed of according to the Law Library’s Lost and Found Policy and Procedure.
Study carrels are provided to Law School students for research and educational use. These carrels are to be used by students for studying and preparing for their Law School classes. While Law School students may come to see their study carrel as a “home away from home,” students should be mindful that decorations on the outside of carrels can detract from the academic environment of the Law Library and may leave visitors and dignitaries with a negative impression of the professionalism of the Law School and its students.
Students may personalize and decorate their study carrels but must adhere to the following guidelines:
Other law library events also take place in this area, including PB&J Bar, Library Contests, relaxation & de-stressing events, and more.
There are several Group Study Rooms located in the Law Library.
Study rooms are now reserved online. To reserve these rooms, students should go to: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/law/lawlibrary/studyroomreservation.php. Please review the study rooms guidelines on the website prior to making a booking.
All individuals or groups of students are restricted to no more than four (4) hours of use per day. A breach of the above rules may result in the loss of group study room privileges for the semester. Group study rooms are NOT soundproof, so please minimize noise so as not to disturb those studying nearby.
Email: computersupport.law@ttu.edu
Phone: 806-742-4897
Location: Law Library 2nd Floor Rm. 227
General Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm
The Law Library Information Technology (IT) staff maintains and supports the computer and technology needs of the entire Law School. The IT staff provides computer support services to students and can assist in locating tutorials and training on computer hardware, software, and other school-related technology.
More information about IT can be found here.
Some of the services IT provides are
In addition to more standard items like books, and study aids, the library offers some additional items law students can borrow from the Research & Information Desk:
Should you have any additional questions about available equipment or usage periods, please contact the Research & Information Desk at: Phone: 806-742-3957 Email: circulation.law@ttu.edu
Check the following charts to find the loan periods for each item. For adjustments to general loan periods, please see the Research & Information Desk.
Special Note for Sports Equipment Checkout: All sporting equipment is checked-out through a sign-in sheet on a first come basis. When checking out sports equipment, the student is required to leave their TTU ID with the Research & Information Desk, to be returned upon the return of the checked-out equipment.
| EQUIPMENT NAME | QUANTITY | PERIOD AVAILABLE FOR CHECKOUT |
Volleyball
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1 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
Football with Tee
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1 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business |
Frisbee |
1 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
Playground Ball (Kickball or Outdoor Basketball)
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1 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
Nerf Football
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1 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
Set of Velcro Paddles and Ball
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1 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
| EQUIPMENT NAME | SYSTEM | QUANTITY | PERIOD AVAILABLE FOR CHECKOUT |
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DELL Laptop
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PC | 6 | Generally 7 days; unless it is being used for a final in which instance it must be checked out for one final and returned at the end of that final. |
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PC Power Adapters
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PC | 3 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
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Apple Power Adapter 1
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APPLE | 2 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
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Apple Power Adapter 2
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APPLE | 2 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
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Apple Power Adapter USB Type C |
APPLE | 2 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
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HDMI Cables
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APPLE/PC/ANDROID |
APPLE: 2PC: 3 |
Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
| External DvD Drives | USB | 2 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
| Power Adapter | Microsoft Surface | 3 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
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Phone Charger
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ANDROID/ APPLE |
ANDROID: 2APPLE: 2ANDROID/APPLE Combination: 6 |
Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
| EQUIPMENT NAME | SYSTEM | QUANTITY | PERIOD AVAILABLE FOR CHECKOUT |
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Universal Device Cables |
ANY | 5 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
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Ethernet Cables
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APPLE AND PC | 3 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
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USB-C Adapters |
APPLE AND PC |
TO VGA: 1AV MULTIPORT: 1TO NETWORK |
Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
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Apple Adapters |
APPLE |
VGA: 6AV: 4 |
Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
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Mac To VGA Mac Mini To VGA |
APPLE |
MAC: 3MAC MINI: 1 |
Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
| Multimedia Adapter | ANY | 2 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
| Anker Powerline USB-C | ANY | 2 | Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
| USB Drives | ANY |
MULTIPLE |
Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
| External Monitors | ASUS ZenScreen |
2 |
Checked out for 4 hours. |
| Wireless keyboard and mouse | Logitech (Bluetooth? Doggle) |
2 |
Checked out for 4 hours. |
| EQUIPMENT NAME | QUANTITY | PERIOD AVAILABLE FOR CHECKOUT |
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Sewing Kit
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1 | Sewing Kit checkout periods may vary. |
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Calculator
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9 | Calculators may be checked out for 4 hours; unless being used for a final, in which instance it is due at the conclusion of the final. |
| Headphones and Earbuds |
On Demand |
Free Handouts |
| Extension Cords and Surge Protectors |
On Demand |
Must be returned the same day as checkout by close of business. |
| Book stands |
5 |
Checked out for 4 hours. |
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Laptop stands SIIG Adjustable Laptop Stand |
5 |
Checked out for 4 hours. |
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Legal keyboards (Legal Keypad) |
1 |
Checked out for 4 hours. |
The Law Library's printing kiosks are located at:
The Law School Achive some previous Law School exams questions shared by faculty. Check the following link to find more.
The Law Library provides access to library materials and services for students with disabilities, including those who have hearing impairment, visual impairment, mobility disabilities and learning disabilities.
The Law Library building and its facilities are accessible to persons with physical disabilities. In-house information telephones are located on each floor and may be used to ask for assistance. The Circulation staff will retrieve books from shelves when needed. For more information, please contact the Circulation staff at (806) 742-3957.
Students are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services on campus at (806) 742-2405 for assistance with services on campus.
