1. Introduction

The USC Law Library's collection includes a core collection of United States legal materials, including all reported federal and state court opinions, the major sets of federal and state statutory codes, and the federal and California regulatory codes. The library also has a large collection of law reviews and legal journals published by law schools throughout the United States, the major California, federal and multi-jurisdictional treatises and looseleaf services published in the United States, as well as a basic collection of foreign and international law materials. The library's collection is designed to support the curricular and research needs of the USC Law School community.

2. The Library's Print Collection

The library's print collection is divided into various subcollections, some of which are located on the 2nd floor of the law school building (the library's main floor) and some of which are located on the 3rd floor.

2nd Floor (Main Floor) Collections:

Below are descriptions of each of the library's subcollections located on the second floor. The USC Law Library web page contains a 2nd floor map that you can view to see where these collections are located on the second floor.

• The Closed Reserve collection is located behind the Circulation/Service Counter near the library entrance. Selected high demand collection items and course reserve materials are housed in Closed Reserve. Also included are current legal newspapers and the Louis M.Brown Client Library, a collection of legal resources geared for members of the public. Closed Reserve materials can be checked out (for library use only) for 2 hour periods of time.
• The Open Reserve collection, which begins in the Hugh and Hazel Darling Reading Room near the front of the library and ends in the first part of the open stacks, contains most of the library's updated federal and multi-jurisdictional secondary sources (treatises, study guides, practice guides, form books, and looseleaf services). These sources can be very useful in helping you to understand the law and find references to relevant cases and statutes. The sources are arranged by subject (in call number order).
• There are a few reference sections in the library that contain legal and law related reference books, including directories, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and citation manuals:
  • The Ready Reference section, located next to the Closed Reserve materials behind the Service/Circulation Counter, is where most of the library's reference books are kept.
  • A smaller collection of reference books is kept in the Reference Office, located adjacent to the Service/Circulation Counter.
  • The Reference Collection is where the library's larger sets of reference books, including encyclopedias, are kept. This collection is located near the Open Reserve collection, at the back of the Hugh and Hazel Darling Reading Room (on the bookshelf running parallel to the north window).
• The 2nd floor California Section (CA2) consists of updated secondary sources on California law (also in call number order) followed by updated California primary law materials, beginning with the major statutory and regulatory sets followed by the case reporters and case digests. For up-to-date information on California law, this section of the library is probably the best place to begin your research.
• The 2nd floor Federal Section (FED2) consists of updated federal primary law materials, also beginning with the major statutory and regulatory sets followed by the case reporters and digests. The case reporters are organized by level of court, starting with the U.S. Supreme Court reporters and ending with the U.S. District Court reporters. Not included in this section are the more specialized federal primary law sets (e.g., West's Bankruptcy Reporter). These are shelved by subject in the Main Floor Stacks (see below).
• The Law Reviews and Journals collection consists of most of the library's law reviews and journals, organized alphabetically by journal title. Legal periodicals are marked with a PER designation. The recent unbound issues for a particular journal are shelved next to the bound volumes for that journal. If a journal issue is missing, it may be checked out or getting ready to be bound. You should stop by the Service Counter to see if it can be retrieved for you.
• The Main Floor Stacks contains the bulk of the library's collection of secondary sources from the past three decades. The books in this section tend to be more scholarly and focused than the more general treatises included in the Open and Closed Reserve and California sections discussed above. They also tend not to be updated on a regular basis. Also included in this section are some specialized case reporters and sets of administrative law decisions. All of the books in this section are arranged by subject (in call number order).
• The library's microfiche/microfilm collection is located in the Photocopy/Microform Room (Rm.218). This collection consists largely of U.S. Congressional documents from 1970 to the present, U.S. Supreme Court briefs, a few major U.S. legal newspapers, and some state session laws from all 50 states (mostly from the 1980s). There is a microform reader/printer that can be used to view and/or print these materials.

The books in most of the above-mentioned collections are non-circulating. Only secondary sources in the Main Floor Stacks can be checked out of the library by members of the USC community. Additionally, USC law students can check out bound journal volumes overnight.

3rd Floor Collections

Below are descriptions of the library's collections on the 3rd floor.
The library's 3rd floor map shows you where these collections are located on this floor.

The front portion of the third floor consists of regular stacks used to house the following collections:

• The Foreign and International Law collection consists of most of the library's foreign, comparative, and international materials. These books are in call number order and arranged by subject (though books pertaining to individual foreign countries are first arranged by country and then by subject).
• The third floor Federal Section (FED3) and California Section (CA3) contain additional copies of some of the major federal and California primary law sets (for cases and statutes).
• American Law Reports (A.L.R.): All of the A.L.R. series (A.L.R. 1st - 6th series plus the A.L.R. Fed. series) are located on the bookshelves along the north wall.

The back portion of the third floor consists of two rows of compact shelving, where you will find the following collections:

• The Early Edition Books section (starting on the left side as you approach the compact shelving area) largely consists of the older books in the library (books that are more than 30 years old as well as older editions of books that have been replaced by newer editions).
• Regional Reporters: At the beginning of the right side are all of the regional case reporters (Atlantic Reporter, Pacific Reporter, etc.) as well as the New York Supplement. They are arranged alphabetically by title.
• The States section (behind the Regional Reporters on the right side) contains the state codes and official reporters for all U.S. states other than California (arranged alphabetically by state).
• The Superseded section (following the States section on the right side) contains older versions of the federal and California statutory codes (useful for historical statutory research).

3. The Library's Online Catalog - ADVOCAT

The USC Law Library's online catalog, called ADVOCAT, provides detailed information about the library's collection, including locational information, call numbers, and information on the most recent periodical issues received by the library. ADVOCAT can be accessed from any of the computers in the library as well as any other computer connected to the internet. To access ADVOCAT from the USC Law Library's web page, merely click on the "Search Library Catalogs" link and then choose "Search ADVOCAT (Law Library)." You can also enter a "Quick Search" on ADVOCAT from the main law library page.

For assistance in using ADVOCAT, use the search tips provided on the search screens. For further guidance on using ADVOCAT and other library catalogs, you can also consult the USC Law Library guide Finding Library Materials through Online Catalogs.

Once you identify items on ADVOCAT that look promising, note the "location" for each item as well as the call number. The call numbers for books that focus on U.S. law (not limited to one particular state) will typically begin with KF. The call numbers for books on California law will typically begin with KFC. Each locational designation on the catalog corresponds to one or more of the various sections of the library described above. Below is a table that spells out exactly which section(s) of the library these designations refer to:

4. Other Electronic Resources

There are a number of other electronic resources available to USC users via the library's web page, including additional library catalogs, periodical databases, and useful legal and law-related web sites. Many of these resources can be accessed through the library's Online Resources and Research Links page. This page includes descriptions of each of the databases to which the law library subscribes. The lock symbol next to a particular resource name indicates that the resource is restricted to USC users. This page also provides access to publicly accessible legal web sites (Legal Resources on the Internet) as well as the mostly non-legal databases subscribed to by the USC Libraries (USC Electronic Resources).

A number of the electronic resources accessible from these pages are described in other USC Law Library research guides.