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Welcome to the textual version of the Seattle University Law Library Virtual Tour. We hope you enjoy the tour. If you have any questions, please visit our homepage, e-mail us at startingpoints@seattleu.edu or phone (206) 398-4220.
You may enter the Law Library through the double doors on the second floor of Sullivan Hall, home to the Seattle University School of Law. As you enter the Library, into the Public Services Area, you will notice a hallway immediately to your right leading to an elevator that accesses all floors of the Library.
Just opposite the elevator door is the entrance to the Document Delivery Center. The DDC contains computers, printers and a photocopy service for law student use. Lab assistants monitor printer output, and representatives from Lexis and Westlaw are available to assist students with those databases. While all law students at Seattle University School of Law have their own laptops, the 12 fully loaded computers in the DDC provide additional access to the Law School’s network.
Returning to the Public Services Area, you will see the Circulation Desk to your right. Visit the Circulation Desk to check-out materials, arrange borrowing privileges, register for a study room, or learn information about Library policies. For online information, consult the Library homepage.
The Open Reserve Collection, located in the stacks just behind the Circulation Desk, contains frequently used materials that support the course, clinic, and research work of students. Materials in the Open Reserve Collection are available for use in the Library and for limited check-out periods. These materials include study aids (such as hornbooks, nutshells, and the Examples and Explanations Series), faculty course reserves, current law reviews, and practice aids. These Open Reserve materials are supplemented by the items kept in Closed Reserve behind the Circulation Desk. Staff are happy to check these materials out to you as needed.
The Micromedia Room is located just off the Open Reserve section of the Library. Here you will find an extensive collection of current and historic legal materials in microfiche and microfilm. The micromedia format allows the Library to collect and maintain the equivalent of nearly 200,000 volumes in a compact format. This collection includes United States Supreme Court Records and Briefs, Native American Legal Materials, and International Law Materials. Micromedia materials can be viewed on the available readers, and printouts may be made for 10 cents a page.
As you return to the Public Services area of the Library, you will find the Reference Desk opposite the Circulation Desk.
The Reference Desk is the place to go for legal research assistance. Knowledgeable reference librarians are available to help you locate materials in our collection, to provide research guidance, or to assist with online research. Librarians can also be consulted through our online e-Reference service.
The Reference stacks, located behind the reference desk, house frequently used multi-volume works, current looseleaf services, ALI Restatements, and formbooks. A full set of Washington primary materials is available in the Reference stacks. Additional Washington materials are available in Open Reserve and the Dolliver Reading Room. The Reference stacks also contain a collection of frequently used federal materials, including the United States Code, Statutes at Large, and the Code of Federal Regulations.
Adjacent to the Reference stacks, as well as in the Open Reserve section, you will find dedicated research computer terminals providing access to the Law Library Research Portal. Using the Portal, you can search the Library’s catalog, access a number of online databases, review research guides, and find links to other research sources. The Portal is on the Web at www.law.seattleu.edu/library/research.
Other items of note in the Public Services area include several original works of art. The large statue, Column of Light, by Northwest artist M. J. Anderson, stands near the entrance to the central stairwell. Behind the Circulation Desk you will find two works by Jacob Lawrence, Aspiration and Contemplation.
Also in this area, just next to the Library entrance, is the Walkover collection. Professor Andy Walkover was a much loved teacher, colleague, and Associate Dean who died of cancer in 1988. This fiction collection, maintained in his memory, is for those wishing to relax and explore a diverse selection of non-legal novels.
The collection continues on the third floor of the Library, where you will find an extensive collection of primary federal and state materials. You can move from the main floor of the Library to the third floor by using the elevator or taking the central stairwell from the Public Services area. The National Reporter Series, Regional Digests, State Statutes, American Law Reports and Corpus Juris Secundum are among the materials kept on the third floor.
Surrounding the stacks are study carrels and comfortable workspaces. Throughout the Library, all the study carrels and workplaces are fully wired with electrical outlets and laptop ports. Online access is also available through the campus-wide wireless network. Via the network, law students can access their print accounts, and print to the Document Delivery Center from any campus location.
There are also nine study rooms available through the Library for student use, some equipped with TV/VCR units. Rooms may be reserved at the Circulation Desk in two hour increments for small group meetings.
Library Administration and Technical Services are located on the third floor of the Library. These offices are responsible for all the behind the scenes work that keeps the law Library running, including material selection, processing, cataloging, and budgeting.
The Collection continues on the fourth floor. Here you will find scholarly works about the law, arranged according to Library of Congress Call Numbers. Most of these books can be checked out of the Library. See our circulation policy for details.
The fourth floor is anchored at each end by spacious study areas. At the north-end of the building is the Alaska State Reading Room. This bright and informal study space was a gift of George and Mary Sundborg. At one end of this comfortable space is a display unit showcasing some of the memorabilia donated by the Sundborg family. Mr. Sundborg, father of the current Seattle University President, was highly involved in Alaska’s move to statehood. Many materials from that process, including an original signed Alaska State Constitution, and unique photos and letters are on display in the Alaska State Reading Room.
The Dolliver Reading Room fills the south-end of the fourth floor. This popular place to study is named for retired Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice and Law School Board of Visitors Chair Emeritus James Dolliver. While windows line the East and West walls of the Dolliver Reading room, the North side is defined by a changing display area dedicated to special Library materials. An exposition of Islamic law and legal materials is currently showcased. Judgment, by Susan Singleton, adorns the South wall of the Dolliver Reading Room.
One last space in the Library deserves mention: the basement Court level, accessible by the elevator. Although current legal periodicals are located in the Open Reserve section on the main floor, the Court Level is home to our collection of over 22,500 volumes from previous years. The nearly 15,000 feet of linear shelving on this floor provides ample growth space for the Library.
If you have further questions about the Library, its collections, or its services, please don’t hesitate to contact us by e-mail at startingpoints@seattleu.edu or by phone at (206) 398-4220.