Arrangement
Audiovisual Collection
Environmental Collection
Final Exams
Government Documents
International & Foreign Law Collection
Library of Congress Classification System
Microform Collection
New York Materials
Periodicals
Primary Materials
Reference Collection
Reserve Collection
Special Collections
State Materials
Tax Collection
The Law Library occupies three floors of the Gerber Glass Law Center. The first floor contains staff offices, Circulation, a computer lab, and the entrance to the five levels of stacks. The second floor contains open study space, study rooms, and the offices for the Land Use Center and the Pace Energy and Climate Center. The third floor contains an open study area, study space in the Library Problem Room, and a 24 hour computer lab and printer. Most materials are classified according to the Library of Congress classification scheme, although some government documents are cataloged using the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) classification system.
The materials are arranged on five stack levels: stack levels 4 and 5 contain United States treatises; stack level 3 contains federal cases, statutes and regulations, case reporters, and New York State materials; stack level 2 contains international, foreign, and comparative law, and monographs assigned to Library of Congress classification J.; and stack level 1 contains materials for all states (except New York), laws of cities and territories, microforms, un-cataloged government publications, and interdisciplinary monographs assigned to Library of Congress classification A through H and L through Z. Journals are shelved in the compact shelving located on stack level 1.
The main floor is the third stack level. It contains federal statutes, case-finding tools (digests and annotated reports), newly received monographs, New York State materials, and the reference collection.
The ground floor is the first stack level. It contains federal depository materials and the Law Library's extensive microform collection. Equipment to view the microforms is also located here.
Reserve materials including Hornbooks, Nutshells, audiotapes, videotapes, and class reserves are kept behind the Circulation Desk. Also kept behind the Circulation Desk are CD-ROMs that accompany print materials.
The Library's audiovisual collection is housed behind the Circulation Desk. Included in the collection are audio study review tapes and commercial audiotapes, videotapes, and DVDs purchased to support the curriculum.
The Law Library is particularly proud of its collection of environmental law materials, which is integrated into the general library collection. We subscribe to many looseleaf services, databases, and court and agency decisions. We also purchase many treatises and specialized monographs in the field, and subscribe to several databases on environmental law.
Exams released by the faculty are accessible on the Law Library TWEN site. The exams that we do have available are older, so it is best to speak with your professor to see if they have any more recent exams that they will provide.
The Law Library was designated a federal depository in 1978. The Library has elected to receive approximately 17% of the items available through the depository program. The collection includes congressional, executive, and administrative primary legal materials and secondary materials relating to areas of curricular interest, including the environment and health. Many depository documents are shelved according to Library of Congress call numbers in the main collection. Some are shelved according to the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) classification scheme in the documents stacks. Even more depository documents are published in microfiche and are located in the microform collection on stack level 1, arranged in SuDocs order. The Library owns many indexes to congressional publications and other federal publications.
Members of the public are welcome to use the depository materials whenever a reference librarian is on duty.
Digital federal documents are cataloged and links are made available through the online catalog. Some federal documents are not cataloged. Please consult a Reference Librarian for assistance in locating material.
International and Foreign Law Collection
The Law Library's international and foreign legal materials are shelved on stack level 2 according to the Library of Congress classification schedules: JZ (International Organizations); KZ (International Law); K (Comparative Law); and KA-KE, KG-KX (Foreign law by country).
The collection includes treaties, publications of international organizations, selected foreign statutes and court reports, treatises, and several databases dealing with international law. Areas of particular strength include treaties, international environmental law, and international sales law. International Legal Materials is shelved on stack level 2. Law reviews dealing with international subjects are shelved in the main periodical collection located on stack level 1. We offer a number of research guides devoted to international law as well.
Library of Congress Classification System
Most Library materials are classified according to the Library of Congress classification system, which uses a primary breakdown for law materials by country and state and a secondary breakdown within jurisdictions by subject. Many monographs and treatises are located on stack levels 4 and 5. Call numbers can be found through the online catalog.
Microfiche and microfilm holdings comprise well over 40% of the Law Library's collection. Microforms are stored in large filing cabinets on stack level 1, and a microform scanner is on that level as well.
Guides and finding tools for microforms are located in the area.
Major microform holdings include:
- Code of Federal Regulations: 1939 to 2000
- Congressional Bills: 1979 to 2007
- Congressional Information Service (CIS) (Congressional Serial Set): 1789-1981
- Congressional reports and documents (Superintendent of Documents): 1979 to 1998
- Congressional hearings and prints (Superintendent of Documents): 1979 to present
- Federal Register: 1936 to 2013
- League of Nations Treaty Series: 1920 to 1946
- Los Angeles Daily Journal: January 1980 to 2013
- New York Court of Appeals Records and Briefs: 1 NY 2d to 2013
- New York Law Journal: 1957 to present
- New York Legislative Bill Jackets: 1975 to 1997
- New York Legislative Documents: 1919 to 1975
- New York State Session Laws: 1777 to present
- New York Times: 1862, 1900-1982
- State Attorneys General Opinions:(earliest available) to 2004
- State session laws: Historical to present
- United Nations Official Records
- United Nations Treaty Series
- United States Code: 1926 to 1964
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Records & Briefs: 1974 to 2009/2010
- United States Supreme Court Records & Briefs: 1930 to present
Most of the materials for New York State are shelved on stack level 3, arranged basically as follows: statutes, court reports, treatises.This collection includes the following materials: McKinney's, The Rules and Regulations of the State of New York (NYCRR), and all New York digests and encyclopedias (no longer updated).
The Legislative Documents Series and the New York Court of Appeals records and briefs are part of the microform collection.
Periodicals are shelved on stack level 1. Selected early or important modern law reviews and current bar journals are also in the microform collection. HeinOnline, a database available to Pace University students, faculty, and staff, contains the full text of many law reviews back to volume 1.
Periodicals are listed in the catalog. Check the Pace online catalog for current holdings.
All federal primary sources in hard copy are located on the main floor (stack level 3). The classification scheme arranges the major sets in the following order: congressional journals, U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News, U.S. Code, U.S. Code Service, U.S. Reports, Federal Reporter, Federal Supplement, Federal Rules Decisions, National Reporter System. The main floor also contains the older units of the American Digest System, American Law Reports (no longer updated), and the Statutes at Large.
The reference collection is located near the Reference Desk on stack level 3. Many reference materials, such as dictionaries, are shelved in the stacks.
The reserve collection is shelved behind the Circulation Desk. The permanent reserve collection contains hornbooks, nutshells, study aids, popular treatises, and newspapers. Course reserve materials consist of books and photocopies requested by a professor for a particular course. Also kept at the Circulation Desk are CD-ROMs, DVDs, and diskettes, some of which accompany print materials in the collection.
The Pace Law Library has several special collections of materials.
- The William L. Butcher International Business Law Collection. The original Butcher Fund was used to purchase materials in the international business law area and subsequent funds were allocated by the University to maintain the collection. It includes books, microforms, periodicals and other materials on commercial law; international agreements, national constitutions, statutes and tax laws, transnational agreements, and other subjects affecting international trade. All Butcher materials are integrated into the general library collection.
- The Law Library maintains a collection of writings of the faculty of the Pace University School of Law. Permanent exhibits of faculty writings are in the Glass Building near the library entrance and on the first floor of Ottinger Hall. Many faculty articles are archived in the Pace Law School Digital Commons.
- Collection given in honor of Joan D. Laufer, J.D. 1979. This collection of biographies, which is integrated into the general Library collection, was given by family and friends to honor Joan D. Laufer, a Pace University School of Law graduate and vice president, First Board of Governors, School of Law Alumni Association.
- Law in Film Collection. This collection of law-themed DVDs and videotapes is available on the main level.
- The Pace Law Library Archival Collections include the David Sive Environmental Collection, the Yonkers Desegregation Archive, and the Pace Law School Archives.
Materials for all states, except New York, are arranged alphabetically by state on stack level 1 with call numbers KFA-KFW. Following the states are materials for cities, with call numbers KFX-KFZ, and materials for the territories of the United States are shelved on stack level 1. Note that many titles for state materials are in microform and are located in the microform collection on the ground floor (stack level 1).
The National Reporter System, an unofficial series of state court reports, is located on stack level 3 with the federal materials (no longer updated).
The Law Library's tax collection is extensive and consists of looseleaf services, court decisions, Internal Revenue Service publications, and treatises. The collection is integrated into the general Library collection, and located on stack level 5.
The Library also subscribes to some databases that offer coverage of tax material.