Circulation Contact Information

Phone number: 319-335-9002 
Email address: lawlib-infohawk@uiowa.edu 

Access to Resources

Hold Requests & Document Delivery Services 

The Law Library participates in intercampus book delivery with the University Libraries. Library users may request materials from other UI libraries to be delivered to a specific library or office on campus. Requests may be placed through the InfoHawk catalog. You will be notified when your item(s) are available for pickup or that they have been delivered to your office. (We do not deliver items to personal residences.) Please allow up to one week for delivery of your requested item. For a list of exclusions or for more information, please visit University Libraries Delivery Services.

For UI Libraries Materials: In general, once an item is made available on the hold shelf, you have a week to pick up the item before it is reshelved or sent back to the owning library. If you would like us to keep the book on hold for you for a longer period of time, please contact lawlib-infohawk@uiowa.edu

For ILL Materials: Hold periods for interlibrary loan items are dependent on the lending library's policies. Please visit your ILL & Document Delivery account page for information about your request.

The Law Library will also fill requests for copies of legal materials from Iowa judges, attorneys, and state agencies. Copies will be provided only in compliance with the University of Iowa Copyright Policy. Charges will be invoiced at $25 for each item up to 50 pages. If you would like to submit a document delivery request, please contact the Interlibrary Loan Team at lawlib-ill@uiowa.edu.  

Interlibrary Loan Services

The Law Library's Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Team supports the research needs of students, faculty, and staff at the College of Law by borrowing materials from other libraries upon request. Requests may be made online through the Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery page or by contacting the Law Library ILL Team at lawlib-ill@uiowa.edu. Please allow up to four weeks for delivery of your requested item.  

In addition, researchers outside the University community may request to borrow materials from the Law Library's collections. If you are with a non-University of Iowa library, please make your request via OCLC, email (lawlib-ill@uiowa.edu), or the ALA Interlibrary Loan Request Form. If you are an individual who is not a member of the University of Iowa community, please contact your local library. 

Reserve and Course Reserve Materials

Reserve materials, including Course Reserves, are located behind the Circulation Desk on the Second Floor and typically only circulate within the Law Library for 4 hours at a time. To check out an item from the Reserve Collections, please visit the Circulation Desk.  

General Reserve contains the most current hornbooks, study and research aids, topical treatises, and current Iowa legislative materials.  

Materials may be placed on Course Reserve by faculty, the legal clinic, moot court, and student organizations. These materials may include Law Library materials, materials from other campus libraries, photocopied materials, and/or personal copies of materials. Reserve materials are identifiable in the InfoHawk Catalog by searching for a faculty member or course/organization using the scope: Course Reserves at the top of the page. To place items on Course Reserve, please email the Circulation Team at lawlib-infohawk@iowa.uiowa.edu.  

Missing Books 

Materials missing from the shelves should be reported through the Search Request Form. Library staff will contact you within 3 business days, either with the item or to assist you with making an interlibrary loan request for the missing item.

Circulation Policies & Procedures

Borrowing and Return Procedures

The Law Library is primarily a research library and its circulation policies and procedures are designed to ensure that on-site researchers have access to the legal resources they need. As a result, many library resources do not circulate outside of the building.  

To check out items that will circulate: 

  • University of Iowa faculty, staff, and students must present a current HawkID card. To view items you currently have checked out and their due dates, please login to your InfoHawk+ Account.

    • College of Law faculty may request a proxy account for their research assistants here.

  • 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. 

  • Visitors who are not members of the Iowa Bar are welcome to use resources inside of the Law Library but may not borrow materials from the library. To request materials, please use your local library’s interlibrary loan services.  

All circulating library materials must be returned to the Law Library Circulation Desk or to a materials return location for another University of Iowa library location. If materials are not returned by the due date, the borrower will be notified through email. After two overdue notices, materials will be considered “Lost” and the library user will be billed via the University Business Office. 

Recalls

A recall is a request for an item to be returned at a sooner due date than was initially given—usually 10 days from the time that the notice is given. These are used to ensure that items continue to circulate and are available to all relevant users. Any library material that has been loaned for more than 10 days is subject to recall. 

In general, the Law Library does not issue recalls for items that we own unless it has been requested to be placed on course reserve. Other items may be recalled at library staff’s discretion. For users that are looking to borrow an item that is unavailable, we encourage the user to place a request for the item through interlibrary loan (ILL).

When a recall is placed, an email is sent informing the user that a new due date is in effect. Fines for recalled items are $4.00 per day for every day the item isn’t returned past the revised due date. 

Loan Periods

Loan periods for circulating books and treatises vary according to the status of the borrower and the type of material.

Borrower Status Typical Loan Period Multi-Volume K & JX Materials Legal Fiction & DVDS
Law Faculty Academic Year Semester 2 weeks
Law Students Semester Semester 2 weeks
Law Student Carrels and Offices Semester Library Use Only 2 weeks
UI Faculty & Staff Semester Library Use Only 2 weeks
UI Graduate Students & Undergraduate Honor Students Semester Library Use Only 2 weeks
Undergraduate Students 8 weeks Library Use Only 2 weeks
Members of the Iowa Bar 4 weeks Library Use Only 2 weeks