In addition to providing resources and services for members of the University of Iowa community, the Law Library is open to visitors.
Law Library Hours
Reference Hours
Ask a Law Librarian
For general questions about using or visiting the Law Library, please contact us by phone at (319) 335-9002 or by email at lawlib-infohawk@uiowa.edu.
For questions about legal research resources or for suggestions on how to start your legal research, contact the Law Library's Reference Service in person, by email at lawlib-ref@uiowa.edu, or by phone at (319) 335-9005.
Reference librarians may:
- help visitors locate resources in the Law Library and on the Internet
- instruct visitors in the use of library materials and electronic resources
- suggest appropriate resources and research strategies
- refer visitors to other libraries or institutions for materials
Reference librarians will not, however,
- conduct research for visitors
- interpret the law
- provide legal advice
- read statutes, cases, court rules, or definitions over the phone
- confirm that resources currently are on the shelf and available to use
Please also see our Policy on Legal Research and Legal Advice.
Attorneys
The Law Library is located inside Boyd Law Building, on the corner of Melrose and Byington in Iowa City. We provide more information on visiting the Law Library, including where to find information about parking and bus routes, here.
The Law Library covers four floors of the Boyd Law Building. For more information on the layout of the Law Library, including maps, please visit Navigating the Law Library.
Attorneys are welcome to visit the Law Library and use our collection. The Law Library is primarily a research library so much of the collection, including multi-volume treatises, does not circulate outside of the building. For items that do circulate, members of the Iowa Bar must present an Attorney Borrower Card. Applications for an Attorney Borrower Card are available at the Circulation Desk. Please bring your business card and Iowa Bar card to apply for an Attorney Borrower Card.
If you are unable to visit the Law Library, attorneys can submit requests to our Document Delivery Service.
The Law Library has a scanner and a coin-operated copy machine near the entrance to the Law Library (Level 2). The scanner is freely available for all guests to use. Scanned documents may be emailed or saved to a USB flash drive, using the USB port on the left side of the control panel. Copying costs $.10 per page. The Law Library does not provide change.
Please visit the Circulation Desk and request a Guest ID and password, which allows you to login to the Law Library computers to access many of the Law Library's and University Libraries’ online resources. You will need to provide a photo ID and phone number or email address in order to obtain a Guest ID and you will need to request a new Guest ID each day you visit the Law Library.
Generally, electronic resources listed as “Unrestricted Access,” “UI Access Only,” or "Law Access Only" are available to all users through the Law Library’s computers. The Law Library’s public access computers also have reader versions of Adobe, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
To connect to the guest network:
- Select the "UI-Guest" network when configuring a device for wireless access
- Use a web browser to confirm the connection to the wireless network
- Agree to UI-Guest's Terms of Service.
Contact the ITS Help Desk at 319-384-HELP (4357) for technical support. For more information about the guest wireless service, go to https://its.uiowa.edu/guestwifi.
Members of the Public
The Law Library is located inside Boyd Law Building, on the corner of Melrose and Byington in Iowa City. We provide more information on visiting the Law Library, including where to find information about parking and bus routes, here.
The Law Library covers four floors of the Boyd Law Building. For more information on the layout of the Law Library, including maps, please visit Navigating the Law Library.
Members of the public are welcome to use the Law Library's extensive print collection. Members of the public cannot, however, borrow materials for use outside of the Law Library.
To request materials for use outside of the Law Library, please use your local library’s interlibrary loan services.
The Law Library has a scanner and a coin-operated copy machine near the entrance to the Law Library (Level 2). The scanner is freely available for all guests to use. Scanned documents may be emailed or saved to a USB flash drive, using the USB port on the left side of the control panel. Copying costs $.10 per page. The Law Library does not provide change.
Please visit the Circulation Desk and request a Guest ID and password, which allows you to login to the Law Library computers to access many of the Law Library's and University Libraries’ online resources. You will need to provide a photo ID and phone number or email address in order to obtain a Guest ID and you will need to request a new Guest ID each day you visit the Law Library.
Generally, electronic resources listed as “Unrestricted Access,” “UI Access Only,” or "Law Access Only" are available to all users through the Law Library’s computers. The Law Library’s public access computers also have reader versions of Adobe, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Keep in mind that many legal research resources are available for free online, including through the Iowa Legislature's website (for Iowa information), GovInfo (for federal information), Google Scholar, and the People's Law Library of Iowa.
To connect to the guest network:
- Select the "UI-Guest" network when configuring a device for wireless access
- Use a web browser to confirm the connection to the wireless network
- Agree to UI-Guest's Terms of Service.
Contact the ITS Help Desk at 319-384-HELP (4357) for technical support. For more information about the guest wireless service, go to https://its.uiowa.edu/guestwifi.