- Arrangement of the Collections
- Call Numbers
- Law Reviews
- Microfiche & Microfilm
- Reference Office
- Ask a Reference Librarian
Reference Area
The Reference Area is located near the entrance to the Library on Floor L1. The entrance to the Reference Area is between the Circulation Desk and the Reference Office.
The Reference Area map illustrates the arrangement of material by call number and locations of the current law reviews, the Copy Alcove, the public computers, and the microfiche and microfilm cabinets.
Contents
The Reference Area contains a well-rounded, but selective working collection of primary sources for U.S. and Washington State law and key secondary sources. In general, material located in the Reference Area cannot be checked out to take home. UW School of Law students may check out Reference Area material for 2-4 hours. Visit the Circulation page for more information.
Primary Law Sources
- Washington State statutes, codes, regulations, case reporters, court rules, and legislative history sources
- U.S. (federal) statutes, codes, regulations, and court rules
- U.S. Supreme Court cases and partial sets of federal appellate and district court reporters
- Selected federal selected agency decisions
- Statutory codes and court rules for all U.S. states
Secondary Sources
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Current law reviews on display shelves |
Except for the current issues of law review, material in the Reference Area is arranged by call number. The law reviews are arranged alphabetically by title on display shelves. The most recent issue of each law review is on display; life the bottom edge of a shelf to find other recent issues.
Microfiche & Microfilm
Cabinets containing microfiche and microfilm are located in the Reference Area, north of the Circulation Desk. Most materials are in call number order; periodicals are in alphabetical order. Self-service microfiche readers and a microfiche reader-printer are located near the Copy Alcove in the Reference Area.
Catalog records refer to this location as Reference Area Microfiche and Reference Area Microfilm.
These collections include:
- Congressional materials such as bills, hearings, and committee prints
- U.S. Supreme Court and Washington appellate court briefs
- Continuing legal education materials
- Student papers
- Legal newspapers
Microfilm is an older format that is no longer extensively used. Many of the Library’s materials in microfilm are from the 1960s and 1970s. They include some theses and dissertations on legal topics from university students around the world, early volumes of a few periodicals, and copies of older treatises.