Library Resources and Access

The UC Law SF Library provides a variety of services to its patrons, including research assistance and instruction, in-depth research classes, one-on-one research and teaching support to faculty, interlibrary loan, web and technology services, and more. Consult our resources:

For Students   For Faculty   For Alumni

The Library Staff

Meet the Library Staff

The Collection

The UC Law SF Library, located on the fourth and fifth floors of Mary Kay Kane Hall, supports the research and educational endeavors of the students and faculty of the UC College of the Law, San Francisco. The Library’s holdings of over 450,000 volumes include an extensive collection of federal, international, and California documents. The Library is a Selective Depository for United States government documents. It is also a Selective Depository for California government documents. In addition to these government documents, the Library has an archive of Ninth Circuit Records and Briefs, US Supreme Court Records and Briefs, California Supreme Court Records and Briefs, and California Courts of Appeal Records and Briefs. Highlights include:

• An extensive collection of bar study materials, see our California Bar Exam Research Guide for more information.
• Significant resources on foreign, comparative and international law topics, as well as extensive research guides in various related topics such as Chinese Law, Immigration Law, International Treaties, the United Nations and more. If you need assistance with a question about this area of law, please contact FCIL Librarian Vince Moyer.
• The Library’s Archives and Special Collections include the Roger J. Traynor Collection, the Hastings Archives, the 65 Club Archives, the Brunetti Papers, and other materials. A few historical documents are available in the Scholarship Repository, but please contact the Library if you have questions.
• All available final examinations from previous semesters are accessible online. Exams are password protected. UC Law SF students & faculty must login to access the exams off-campus.
• The Library purchases one copy of each required casebook for each JD course section.  The casebooks are available for 3-hour checkout at the Circulation Desk. These are not intended to serve as a replacement for students purchasing their own copy of the required text. In addition, some superseded editions of casebooks are available in the library’s main collection.

Library Access and Policies

The UC Law SF Library is currently open to UC Law SF students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and UC Davis MSBA students, faculty and staff with a UC Law SF-issued ID Card. In addition, we are open to libraries participating in our Unaffiliated Borrowers Program.  The general public and visitors remain prohibited at this time to ensure available space for our internal campus community. 

Beginning July 5, 2022 the following categories of patrons may also use the Library from 9:00 am until close, Monday – Thursday:

• UC Law SF alumni (borrowing privileges also extended to those with an Unaffiliated Borrower card)
• Law Firm Libraries in possession of a current UC Law SF Unaffiliated Borrower card
• Government Agency Libraries in possession of a current UC Law SF Unaffiliated Borrower card

During UC Law SF Reading and Final Exams Periods, only UC Law SF faculty, staff, and students, and UC Davis MSBA faculty, staff and students with a UC Law SF-issued ID may use the Library.

Identification will be checked at the building entrance. All Library patrons will be required to show appropriate ID at the first floor Security Desk. See the table below for more information regarding the specific ID requirements for various categories of users. In addition to showing appropriate ID to Security, all non-UC Law SF visitors or Alumni without a current UC Law SF Unaffiliated Borrower card will be asked to sign in at the Security Desk. Authorized visitors will be issued a visitor pass good for the day. Visitors to the Library are expected to abide by the Law Library Policy on Conduct. Questions about this access policy should be directed to the Reference Desk at (415) 565-4751.

User Category	ID Requirement
UC Law SF students, faculty, & staff; UC Davis MSBA program affiliates	Current UC Law SF photo ID
UC Law SF alumni	Current UC Law SF Alumni Unaffiliated Borrower Card or official photo ID.
Registered Unaffiliated Borrowers	Current UC Law SF Unaffiliated Borrower card and photo ID

Further, everyone entering campus buildings must comply with all of the College’s COVID-19 mitigation measures.

Access to the Wireless Network

Only UC Law SF students, faculty and staff are allowed access to the secure network. A guest wireless network is available for visitors upon request.

Access to Government Documents

Due to safety concerns, the Library is not open to members of the general public at this time. However, members of the public are encouraged to search the Library’s catalog, which contains links to government documents online. Members of the public can also reach a research librarian via phone or email for virtual assistance.

The UC Law SF Library is a Selective Depository for United States government documents. As such, it receives only a small portion of federal depository materials. A more extensive collection of government documents is available at San Francisco’ Public Library’s (SFPL) Government Information Center, which is located one block from the Law School at 100 Larkin Street. It offers public access to one of the largest and oldest government document collections in Northern California. The SFPL collection includes census publications for all decennial censuses, economic censuses, statistics, annual reports, legislation, statutes, codes, regulations, treaties, military history, and major publications of federal departments. Please consult SFPL’s website for hours of operation and support.

Directions

• The UC Law SF Library is located at the northwest corner of McAllister and Hyde Streets. Google Map of our location.
• The Hastings Parking Garage is located at 376 Larkin Street, on the corner of Larkin and Golden Gate. There are also other outdoor and indoor garages in the area and metered street parking.
• BART: Ride Bart to Civic Center Station. Exit the station at United Nations Plaza, walk 1 block north on Hyde Street to McAllister Street.
• MUNI: Ride MUNI Metro to Civic Center Station, exit station at United Nations Plaza, walk 1 block north on Hyde Street to McAllister Street.

Current Openings

The Circulation Department of the Law Library is accepting applications from 2Ls, 3Ls, LLMs, and MSLs to staff the Circulation Desk. Work between classes, during the evening, or on weekends. Flexible schedules. Work-Study preferred, but not required. Applications are available online. For additional information, contact the Circulation Librarian.

Virtual library internships are also available for qualified MLIS students. If you are a San Jose State MLIS student, please see our listing in the San Jose State University SLIS internship database for more information. For additional information, please contact Camilla Tubbs.