The Collection
The William M. Rains Law Library is one of the largest private law libraries in the western United States. At present, the Library has a collection of nearly 560,000 bound or microform volumes, including the Anglo-American reports, statutes, legal periodicals, treatises and secondary materials needed for study of and research in law.
The Library is both
a California and a federal documents depository. The collection includes
extensive holdings of primary and secondary materials from California
and all other United States jurisdictions. The Hugh and Hazel Darling
Pavilion, located on the second and third floors of the Casassa Building,
houses the Library's growing collection of international, foreign, and
comparative legal materials. This collection particularly emphasizes
legal materials from Latin America, the Pacific Rim and the British Commonwealth.
The Library receives books and program materials from the California Continuing Education of the Bar, from the American Bar Association and the American Association of Law Schools, and is a member of the Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI).
The Library collects materials in political science, economics, social science, philosophy and other disciplines which augment the legal collection with important interdisciplinary resources.
Traditional print resources are augmented by extensive access to numerous electronic databases and a growing CD-ROM collection. From computer terminals located throughout the Library, researchers have access to bibliographic information on the location and availability of library resources via the Library's on-line catalog (LUCY).
Through the Library, all students are trained in, and have available for use, the WESTLAW and LEXIS computer-assisted legal research databases. Students may access these databases and other computer resources on network computers located in the four computer labs which comprise the Library's Computer Resource Center.
The William M. Rains Law Library has an on-going commitment to the intellectual development of the Loyola Law School community, through its aggressive programs in collections development, research assistance, facilities enhancement and expansion, and technology.