The Law Library's Collection Policy is currently under review. If you have any questions, until the policy is updated, please contact Barb Kallusky, Interim Director.
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Hamline University School of Law
3.0 ABA Standards for Law Libraries
4.0 Selection Procedures
5.0 “Core” Collection
6.0 Foreign, Comparative, and International Law
7.0 U. S. Government Documents Collection
8.0 Selection Considerations for the University Community, Alumni, the Legal Community, and the General Public
9.0 Special Collections
10.0 Subject Area Collection Intensity
11.0 Conclusion
12.0 References
Appendix: Hamline Law Library Core Collection
The Law Library's Collection Development Policy grows out of the Library's mission:
The mission of the Hamline University Law Library is to serve the Hamline University School of Law by providing a broad collection of information resources and the services of a dedicated staff to support the curriculum and research needs of its faculty, students, and staff. In addition, the Law Library makes its collection and services available to the greater Hamline University community, law school alumni, the legal community, and the public at large.
The Director of the Law Library has the final responsibility, as delegated by the Dean of the Law School, for the maintenance and development of the Law Library collections. The Director carries out these duties in consultation with the Hamline Law Library librarians.
This Collection Development Policy will be reviewed and revised on a regular basis in response to changes in the Law School’s research and curricular needs and to changes in legal publishing. The Director of the Law Library, in collaboration with the other librarians, will conduct this periodic policy review. All amendments require approval of the director.
The Law Library is an integral part of the Hamline University School of Law and the Library’s collections support the Law School’s mission. The Law School offers legal education that emphasizes functional skills blended with theoretical knowledge, an ethic of community service, and a commitment to social justice.
2.1 Curricular Focus Areas
The Law School offers twelve organized tracks of study, which maximize students' experiences in their chosen field of study. These twelve focus areas are:
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Business and Commercial Law
Child Advocacy
Criminal Law
Government and Regulatory Affairs
Health Law
Intellectual Property
International Law
Labor and Employment Law
Litigation and Trial Practice
Property Law
Public Law and Human Rights
2.2 Law School Institutes
The Law School houses the Dispute Resolution Institute and the Health Law Institute. The University has approved the creation of the Business Law Institute, which will be housed at the Law School. There is a particularly strong concentration of faculty research and curricular offerings in these areas.
2.3 Law School Clinics
The Law School places strong emphasis on experiential learning and offers clinics in the following areas: education law, employment discrimination mediation, child advocacy, mediation, immigration law, innocence, small business, state public defender, and trial practice.
2.4 Journals
The Law School supports two student-edited journals, Hamline Law Review and Hamline Journal of Public Law & Policy, and the Journal of Law & Religion, an international peer reviewed publication in which several faculty members are closely involved and the Law School supports.
2.5 Faculty and Student Research
Faculty members’ research interests closely align with the Law School’s curricular focus areas. Courses requiring student research generally mirror these concentrations as well. Faculty members also publish on interdisciplinary topics, particularly Law and Religion, and Race and the Law.
The Library monitors faculty research and publication to stay aware of new interests, and reviews syllabi to track courses in which students will require research resources. The library consults on a regular basis with faculty members regarding specific research or curricular needs.
Consistent with the Library’s focus on Hamline University School of Law's research and curricular needs, this Collection Development Policy has been drafted with close attention to the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools, particularly Standard 606:
Standard 606. COLLECTION
(a) The law library shall provide a core collection of essential materials accessible in the law library.
(b) In addition to the core collection of essential materials, a law library shall also provide a collection that, through ownership or reliable access,
(1) meets the research needs of the law school’s students, satisfies the demands of the law school curriculum, and facilitates the education of its students;
(2) supports the teaching, scholarship, research, and service interests of the faculty; and
(3) serves the law school’s special teaching, scholarship, research, and service objectives.
(c) A law library shall formulate and periodically update a written plan for development of the collection.
(d) A law library shall provide suitable space and adequate equipment to access and use all information in whatever formats are represented in the collection.
4.1 Criteria for Selection of Materials
Within the context of Law School faculty and student research and curricular needs, numerous factors are considered in selecting new material, including:
Law School faculty requests for material within the scope of this policy are almost always honored unless the cost is prohibitive.
4.2 Selection Tools
Primary selection tools include Hein's Advance Bibliography of American Law (Greenslips) and Blackwell's Book Services' Collection Manager Service (based on a profile to review recently published law-related items). Other tools include publishers’ catalogs and flyers, book reviews, law-related blogs, faculty and student suggestions, and bibliographic databases such as OCLC’s WorldCat.
4.3 Format Selection
The Library’s collection comprises resources in print, microform, audiovisual, and electronic formats. This multiplicity of formats reflects changes in legal publishing, patron demand for electronic access to information, and an evolution in the Library’s collecting philosophy to value access to information and ownership of materials equally. While some material is available only online, other material, particularly specialized monographs, remains available only in print. The Library also has a significant amount of information in microform format which is often the most cost-effective means for archiving material. For the foreseeable future, the Library anticipates that the collection will continue to develop in all these areas.
Choice of format is based on several factors, including:
4.31 Microforms
The Library acquires microform primarily for the following reasons: to preserve fragile materials; to reduce shelf space required to house the material; to fill gaps in a serial or multivolume title; and to collect material otherwise unavailable to the Law Library in print. The Library’s reliance on microform will diminish as legal material is increasingly digitized by reliable sources.
The Library prefers microfiche over microfilm, and the best fiche with the highest silver content is preferred. When microfilm is purchased, 35mm is preferred over 16mm if both are available. Positive film is preferred over negative film.
4.32 Electronic Resources
The Library prefers subscription access via the World Wide Web to CD-ROM access, and prefers IP-based authentication over password access. The Law Library provides the broadest access possible to electronic resources and aims to extend access to the entire University community through remote access; however, it is not always possible to negotiate affordable licenses that allow access beyond the Law School community. Where licenses are restricted to the Law School community, the Library attempts to provide access to all patrons who visit the physical library.
The Library selects websites and documents freely available on the web for inclusion in CLICnet, the Library’s online catalog. Selection of internet resources is based on the same general criteria that are applied to all other formats. In addition, the Library considers:
If a website does not meet enough of the specific criteria to warrant selection as a cataloged resource, it may still be considered for inclusion on the Law Library’s website or in library research guides, where more explanatory information can be provided.
4.33 Serials
Online databases now offer reliable access to a significant number and subject range of legal periodicals. For the foreseeable future, however, the Library recognizes the need to maintain print subscriptions to certain categories of legal periodicals. Among other factors, the “embargo” on the most recent issues of some periodicals in online databases is a consideration.
The Library collects in print the primary law review published by each U.S. law school; the Library selectively collects in print subject specific law reviews published by U.S. law schools based upon the Subject Area Collection Intensity levels provided in section 10 below. The Library collects in print primary law reviews in English published by leading British and Canadian law schools. The Library collects commercially published periodicals selectively in print based on the Subject Area Collection Intensity levels provided in section 10, and significant weight is given to online availability and cost.
The Law Library subscribes to the Index to Legal Periodicals & Books (ILP and ILP Retrospective), LegalTrac, Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP), and the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals.
4.34 Looseleaf Services
Due to expense and increasing availability online, the Library scrutinizes looseleaf services closely before subscribing. Factors considered in selection decisions for looseleaf materials include:
4.35 U. S. Monographs
Many monographs published each year are available only in print and most users prefer the print format to e-books. Therefore, the Library will make every attempt to prevent serials and continuation costs from eroding the budget for monographs. In the future, this may result in the cancellation of serial or loose-leaf print titles that are otherwise available online.
Monographs are purchased according to the Subject Area Collection Intensity levels provided in section 10. The Library adheres to the following general policies:
4.36 Audiovisual Materials
Faculty members increasingly incorporate audiovisual materials into their teaching. Most of the items selected for the audiovisual collection are purchased at the direct request of a faculty member or in consultation with faculty. The library prefers DVD to VHS for visual materials and CD to audiotape for audio materials; these standards are subject to change as technology evolves.
4.4 Duplication
Duplication within the physical collection is avoided unless there is a need for additional copies based on student and faculty use. A resource may be duplicated if it is available in more than one format (e.g., in print and online), but this alternative availability is a factor in making the selection decision.
4.5 Cooperative Acquisitions/Interlibrary Loan
The Law Library generally does not duplicate materials held in Hamline University’s Bush Memorial Library which is located next door, although the Library will do so if required to support faculty research and curricular needs. Although there is no written agreement, it is assumed that the Law Library will collect materials to support the legal education needs of all Hamline University faculty, students, and staff.
The Law Library is a member of Cooperating Libraries in Consortium (CLIC), a consortium of private college libraries in the metro area including the University of St. Thomas Law Library. The MnPALS Partner Libraries promote active sharing of their collections by maintaining a twice daily courier service.
The Law Library relies on other MnPALS Partner Libraries and interlibrary loan through the MINITEX Library Information Network and OCLC to provide patrons access to material that falls outside the scope of the Collection Development Policy.
Although the Law Library has no written agreements with other law libraries in the Twin Cities area, there is substantial cooperation with the local academic law libraries and within the local law library community.
4.6 Gifts
The Head of Technical Services may accept gifts of either library materials or monetary donations to purchase materials provided that no conditions are attached and the materials conform to this policy’s selection guidelines. The Library retains the right to dispose of gifts at any time and in any manner deemed appropriate. The Library will not appraise the value of any gift but, upon request, the Library will provide an acknowledgement with a summary of the number and types of items donated.
5.1 ABA Standard 606(b)
ABA Standard 606 (b) requires: In addition to the core collection of essential materials, a law library shall also provide a collection that, through ownership or reliable access,
(1) meets the research needs of the law school’s students, satisfies the demands of the law school curriculum, and facilitates the education of its students;
(2) supports the teaching, scholarship, research, and service interests of the faculty; and
(3) serves the law school’s special teaching, scholarship, research, and service objectives.
This standard has been interpreted to provide the following guidance:
Interpretation 606-5:
A law library core collection shall include the following:
(1) all reported federal court decisions and reported decisions of the highest appellate court of each state;
(2) all federal codes and session laws, and at least one current annotated code for each state;
(3) all current published treaties and international agreements of the United States;
(4) all current published regulations (codified and uncodified) of the federal government and the codified regulations of the state in which the law school is located;
(5) those federal and state administrative decisions appropriate to the programs of the law school;
(6) U.S. Congressional materials appropriate to the programs of the law school;
(7) significant secondary works necessary to support the programs of the law school, and
(8) those tools, such as citators and periodical indexes, necessary to identify primary and secondary legal information and update primary legal information.
(ABA Standards 2008-2009)
5.2 Hamline Law Library’s Core Collection
The Library’s core collection includes all materials required by ABA Standard 606(b). See the Appendix to this policy for detailed holdings information.
6.1 International Law
Although International Law is one of the Law School’s focus areas, it is a very broad area covering a wide array of subjects. Additionally, international law materials tend to be quite expensive. The Library is, therefore, very selective in purchasing international law materials.
In addition to the treaties series noted in the Appendix, the Library collects secondary sources in international law based upon the Subject Area Collection Intensity levels provided in section 10 of this policy, and in close consultation with law faculty regarding their research and curricular needs.
6.2 Foreign and Comparative Law
The Library’s collecting policies for foreign and comparative material are stringently tied to the Law School faculty’s current research and curricular needs. The collection is developed in close consultation with faculty and is tailored to support their research and specific course assignments. The library collects English language materials only.
The Library does not collect primary resources for foreign countries. For comparative law purposes, the library collects basic introductory works about the legal systems of selected countries, including Canada, Great Britain, and civil law countries identified in consultation with faculty to support the comparative law curriculum. The Library also collects basic works on Islamic law. Secondary material for foreign law on specific subjects is purchased very selectively based on the Subject Area Collection Intensity levels set out in section 10 of this policy, and in consultation with faculty to support their research or student assignments.
The Law School has a longstanding relationship with the University of Bergen Law School in Norway. To support this relationship, the Library collects secondary sources in English relating to Norwegian law.
6.3 European Union
The library supports a basic collection of European Union materials, including a subscription to CCH’s European Union Law Reporter, European Community Cases, and Doing Business in Europe. Secondary sources are collected very selectively.
7.1 Federal Depository Library Program
The Hamline Law Library, being a library of an accredited law school, was designated a selective Federal Depository Library in 1979. As a participant in the Federal Depository Program, the Library must comply with the obligations of that program under 44 U.S.C §1916 and accompanying regulations, as well as those stated in the Federal Depository Library Manual, Guidelines for the Depository Library System, and Instructions to Depository Libraries.
The Library’s status as a depository library supports the Law School program by providing access to Federal government information for its primary constituents: Hamline University School of Law faculty, students, and staff. The Library also is committed to providing the local community with access to Federal government information acquired through the depository program.
7.2 Selection Policies
The Head of Technical Services is responsible for selecting from the item numbers available and for reviewing the Library’s list of item selections annually.
The Library collects U.S. government documents selectively (currently 9.15%) to support the Law School’s research and curricular needs. Its depository collection includes all items in the “Suggested Core Collection” for Law Libraries (Federal Depository Manual, Appendix A). The collection focuses chiefly on those GPO publications that deal with the administration of justice, Congressional materials, agency decisions, Library of Congress materials, IRS materials, treaties, and other presidential and executive branch materials.
The Law Library has a selective housing arrangement with the Bush Memorial Library. By virtue of the Law Library’s status as a selective depository library, Bush librarians may select items to support the needs of the faculty and students in the College of Liberal Arts and the Graduate School, thereby enhancing its collection for use in research and writing.
7.3 Format
Section 4.3 of the Library’s Collection Development Policy addresses format selection and applies to the selection of government documents as well as other types of material.
7.4 Access
The Government Documents collection is accessible and free to the public. Library users may freely browse the Government Documents collection or access government information from any public workstation within the library during any hours that the library is open. The majority of the collection circulates.
Reference services for government information are available from the reference staff. The Reference Desk is staffed over seventy hours each week by a professional librarian.
Selection Considerations for the University Community, Alumni, the Legal Community, and the General Public
Although the Law Library's primary mission is to serve the needs of Law School faculty and students, the Library makes its collection and services available to the greater Hamline University community, alumni, the legal community, and the public at large. Although there is no written agreement, it is assumed that the Law Library will collect materials to support the legal education needs on campus—particularly the needs of the Legal Studies Department and the Forensic Sciences Certificate program—when possible.
The Law Library subscribes to WestPAC (Westlaw Public Access) and online Shepards. Both are available on a walk-in basis for any library user.
The Law Library does not collect material that would solely benefit the public, alumni, or the bench and bar.
9.1 Rare Books
The Law Library holds a small Rare Books collection and is committed to maintaining and preserving this collection. The Library does not purchase rare books, but will accept rare books as gifts.
9.2 Law School Archives
While the Hamline University Archive is the official depository for University records and documents, the Law Library gathers, organizes, and makes available a parallel collection covering the public history of the Law School.
The collection includes: program catalogs and brochures; face books; faculty and student handbooks; graduation and commencement materials; phone directories; schedules; annual reports; material relating to symposia, conferences, and events; photographs; alumni news, photographs and directories; building plans; faculty articles, reprints, and books; faculty papers; staff publications; memorabilia; Law School publications and journals; public material from various law school offices and departments; and material from student organizations.
The collection excludes all private and confidential information.
10.1 Definitions
The following Subject Area Collection Intensity levels are used to define the level at which the Library collects for various subject areas. Collecting levels may change as research interests and the curriculum evolve. It is also possible to have temporary fluctuations in collection intensity levels based on short-term faculty interests.
Level 5: Comprehensive
The library attempts to include all significant works of recorded knowledge, in all applicable languages, for a defined and limited field. The aim, if not the achievement, is exhaustiveness. Older material is retained for historical research.
Level 4: Research
The library collects the major published source materials required for independent research, including materials containing research reporting, new findings, and other information useful to researchers. The collection supports basic curriculum areas in which faculty and students are likely to do research now and in the future. The collection includes all important reference works and a wide selection of specialized monographs, as well as an extensive collection of journals and major indexing and abstracting services in the field. Older material is retained for historical research.
Level 3: Instructional Support
The library maintains a collection adequate to support all law school instruction. It includes a wide range of basic monographs, complete collections of the works of more important writers, selections from the works of secondary writers, a selection of representative journals, access to appropriate databases, and reference and bibliographic tools pertaining to the subject. The emphasis is on building current and representative collections adequate to maintain knowledge of a subject for limited or generalized purposes, but less than that required for scholarly research.
Level 2: Basic Information
The library maintains a collection of up-to-date general materials that serve to introduce and define a subject and to indicate the varieties of information available elsewhere. It includes standard reference works, selected editions of important works, historical surveys, major periodicals, and access to appropriate databases. A basic information collection is not sufficiently intensive to support instruction in any course in the subject area involved.
Level 1: Minimal Level
The library collects few materials.
10.2 Subjects
| Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
| ADR (4+) Children & the Law Commercial Law Contracts Constitutional Law Corporations/Bus Org Criminal Law Criminal Procedure Diversity & the Law Evidence Health Law (4+) Intellectual Property Labor & Employment Law & Religion Legal Education Legal Ethics/PR Leg Research/Writing Minnesota Law (4+) Native American Law Poverty Law Privacy Law Property Restorative Justice Slavery & the Law Torts |
Administrative Law |
Agricultural Law |
Construction Law Legal Fiction |
The Library does not collect at the comprehensive level (Level 5) in any subject areas.
This Collection Development Policy is designed to be an organic document providing guidance to the librarians exercising their professional judgment in making selection decisions. It will be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure that the policy continues to meet the research and curricular needs of the Hamline University School of Law.
This Collection Development Policy was initially drafted in 2007 by Connie Lenz, then Director of the Law Library, with input from the law librarians, as an outgrowth of the policy in place in December 2006. It is modeled on policies of several other academic law libraries, in particular the University of
Appendix: Hamline Law Library Core Collection
Unless format is specified, the Library holds a print subscription only. (Availability on Lexis and Westlaw is not taken into account for purposes of this Appendix.)
Federal
Statutory/Legislative:
Case Materials:
Administrative:
Secondary Sources: Monographs and periodicals are collected at the level designated by the Subject Area Collection Intensity levels outlined in the Collection Development Policy.
Statutory/Legislative:
Cases Materials:
Administrative:
Local Codes: The Library relies on online access to municipal codes.
Secondary Sources:
States (other than
Statutory:
Note: With universal online availability for law students and faculty and increasing online access for other patrons, the Library may reconsider the policy to purchase print codes and rules for each state in the future.
Case Materials:
Note: With availability of online case research for law students and faculty and increasing online access for other patrons, the Library may reconsider the policy to purchase print copies of some reporters and digests noted above in the future.
Administrative:
Secondary Sources:
Treaties & International Agreements
Indexes
The Library subscribes to indexes appropriate to the Library’s periodical collection and to other indexes that may provide access to periodicals not in the collection but whose material may be of interests to
Citators
Reference Materials
The Library maintains a collection, in print and electronic formats, of bibliographies, finding tools, dictionaries, directories, and other reference materials to support research and curricular needs.
[i] Policy revised in September 2008 by Grace Mills, Law Library Director, Barb Kallusky, Head of Public Services, Susan Vossberg, Catalog Librarian and Regina Watson, Reference Librarian.
