Legal Research

New library for America?s oldest law school

The College of William Mary Law Library was recently spotlighted on the I Love Libraries website.

An excerpt:
Nearly 30 years ago, in 1980, the College of William & Mary opened its original 36,500-squarefoot library. By the mid-1990s, shelf space, work space, and seating were in short supply. The library looked dated and offered little support for today?s technology?only a small portion of the library?s carrels and tables had access to power outlets, its computer lab was carved out of former stack space, and its tiny ?typing rooms? had long outlived their usefulness. During the sabbatical inspections that took place in 1995 and 2002, the American Bar Association (ABA) and Association of American Law Schools (AALS) both pointed to the library?s physical facilities as a serious weakness for the school.

Using a combination of state funds, private donations, and student fees, the law school budgeted $16.8 million for an expansion and complete renovation of the library. The new library would not only be 60 percent larger than the old library, but would be much brighter and more inviting. Law Library Director Jim Heller worked on the plans with Shelley Dowling, who had recently joined William & Mary (W&M) as a part-time librarian. Heller had experience with two small renovation projects at the W&M Law Library; Dowling had been involved in renovations at the U.S. Supreme Court Library and Georgetown?s law library before coming to W&M.

Read more at: http://www.ilovelibraries.org/news/libraryshowcase/williamandmary.cfm

Source: American Libraries Direct, The e-newsletter of the American Library Association | October 15, 2008

Full post as published by LexLibris on October 16, 2008 (boomark / email).