Collections: Law Library Collections

The Law Library collects an expansive array of materials to support the curriculum and the research interests of faculty members and students at the School of Law. Our collections include print and online legal materials and rare materials including books and manuscripts in print and digitized formats. Below are some of the highlights of our collections:

Government Materials 

The Law Library is a selective depository for U.S. and Virginia materials and bases its government documents collection on the needs of the law school community. UVA’s Alderman Library is a regional depository library for both U.S. and Virginia and has a comprehensive collection of government documents available for Law School community use.

Special and Digital Collections

The Special Collections Department houses rare research materials in legal history, including books printed before 1850, manuscripts, archival records and publications, faculty writing, photographs, and Law School archives. The Law Library is digitizing a significant quantity of these materials and, when possible, making them available for public use through the Web.

The Mortimer M. Caplin Tax Collection

Housed in the Tax Alcove on the first floor of the library, this collection includes specialized journals, reports, legislative histories, statutes, major treatises, and selected books on U.S. tax law.

The Walter Whitlock Klaus Collection

The Klaus Reading Room provides a pleasant place to relax and read daily newspapers and current popular magazines. It houses a browsing collection of materials that are generally not law- related, including popular fiction, such as mysteries and thrillers, and non-fiction, such as current biographies and other works on current topics. The collection also includes a variety of videos and DVDs, ranging from classics to new releases. Books and videos are purchased from a special fund established in memory of Walter Whitlock Klaus. Recommendations from faculty members, students, and staff for new purchases are solicited.

The Newlin Collection on Oceans Law and Policy

The Newlin Collection on Oceans Law and Policy is the largest of its type, consisting of over 18,000 volumes and unique manuscripts and other archival collections. The latter include more than 240,000 documents, many unpublished, pertaining to the United Nations Conferences on the Law of the Sea. Holdings include both contemporary and historical materials.

International Law and Foreign & Comparative Law

This collection includes materials on business and trade law, environmental law, European Union law, human rights, intellectual property, law of the sea, private and public international law, and space law.

Electronic Resources

The library collects digital resources, most of which are delivered through the internet. These include databases, abstracting and indexing services, e-journals, e-books, digital government documents, and datasets. Additional resources are available to law students, faculty and staff through UVA Libraries.