Library Services

Who Can Borrow?

Users must have a valid Crimson Card to borrow materials from the library. All IU/IUPUI faculty, students, and staff have borrowing privileges. Materials are available to attorneys and the general public for use in the library only. For further information, contact Circulation. Borrowers are responsible for materials checked out on their accounts and should notify library staff of issues or damage to those materials. Borrowers must inform the University of a lost or stolen Crimson Card, change of mailing address, telephone number, or e-mail address. Students, faculty, and staff should also inform their “home” library if their Crimson Cards are lost or stolen.

Reciprocal Borrowing

Academic Libraries of Indiana (ALI) is an organization representing all academic libraries in accredited non-profit institutions of higher education in Indiana. Included among the 72 ALI members are major research libraries, law and medical libraries, theological school libraries, and many undergraduate libraries.

Current faculty and law students can apply for reciprocal borrowing cards that will allow you to borrow books from any participating library. Read the brochure to learn more, then complete the application and return it to your liaison or the Circulation Desk to receive your ALI borrowing card.

ALI visitors, with reciprocal borrowing cards and valid university IDs from their home institution, should contact the Circulation Manager, at 317-274-4028, for more information.

What Can Circulate?

The majority of the library’s circulating material is located in the classified collection on the second floor. Any part of a multi-volume set, has a pocket part, or is bound in a loose-leaf binder can only be used in the library. Items in the open reserves, course reserves, faculty archives, and the audio/video collections also circulate, but these materials have limited loan periods.

Loan Periods/Renewals

• Most materials from the general collection circulate for one month with two renewals. Some materials are non-circulating.
• Materials from the Study Aids collection circulate for 24 hours with one renewal. After 7 days, accounts with overdue study aids will be barred and billed for the cost of replacement/processing fee.
• Materials from the Reserve collection circulate for two hours with no renewals.
• Electronics, such as headphones and chargers circulate for two hours with one renewal.
• Materials from the A/V collection circulate for three days with one renewal

Members of the law school faculty are permitted extended loan periods for all items. Renewals may be denied if another patron has requested the item. Most materials can be renewed online through My Account in IUCAT. If you encounter issues, contact the Circulation Desk at circlawl@iu.edu or 317-274-4028. Items can also be renewed in person.

My Account

Connect to your account in the IU Library system to request books, renew materials, and view items checked out and holds.

Request Delivery Service

Law school students, faculty, and staff may place requests online for delivery of materials from another IU library using the “Request Delivery” button in IUCAT. Requests for delivery of items from other IU libraries usually take 4-7 business days to receive. You will be notified via email when these items arrive for pickup at the Circulation Desk. If there is no Request Delivery button for the item you want, either (1) you are using the Guest Access to IUCAT and need to login instead; or (2) the item is not available for delivery.

Recalls

You may request to recall an item only after all other borrowing options have been exhausted. Only items owned by the Law Library may be recalled. If materials checked out to you have been recalled, you have 10 days to return them to the library. Some recalls may be due immediately if they are needed for reserves or other administrative purposes. Recalled items are not eligible for renewal, and failure to return a recalled item by the recall due date may result in the suspension of borrowing privileges.

Returning Materials

There are two drop boxes for library materials. One is located at the Circulation Desk. The other is to the left of the northern door to the library. Inspect your materials before returning and notify library staff of any damage. Faculty may also return materials in the “library return” bins located near the mailboxes in the second and third floor faculty suites. Law Library items may also be returned at any IU library.

Overdue Fines and Lost/Damaged Materials

Ruth Lilly Law Library does not charge daily fines for overdue items owned by this library. However, items borrowed from other IU libraries or through interlibrary loan are subject to recall, overdue, and lost item policies and fines as set forth by those lending libraries.

You may inform the Law Library at any time that an item has been lost or damaged and make payment arrangements. If an item from the general collection is more than 51 days overdue, it will be declared “lost” and a fee will be generated totaling the amount of a replacement cost plus $25.00 in processing fees. For shorter term loans, after 7 days overdue, processing and replacement fees will be charged. Replacement costs or fees will be charged for materials received damaged.

Library charges post to your University Bursar account. Outstanding fees on your Bursar account will prevent registration for classes, requests for transcripts, and issuance of diplomas. In addition, library accounts with lost materials or outstanding charges will be suspended from further borrowing until fees are paid and/or materials are returned.

If lost library material is returned in acceptable condition within six months after being billed by the Bursar, your account may be credited the cost of the replacement item less the $25 processing fee. Refunds will not be issued for materials returned after six months.

The law library is open to the public, but research assistance is limited. The research librarians do not perform legal research, provide legal advice or legal interpretation. The following are example of actions the reference librarians and other members of the library staff cannot do:

• Read legal materials to a patron by telephone or in person
• Give legal advice
• Explain or interpret statutes, cases or regulations
• Do the actual legal research
• Give opinions on legal issues
• Select specific laws, rules or forms
• Assist with filling out forms
• Choose language or terms for research
• Recommend a specific lawyer or law firm

Those requiring legal assistance should contact the Indianapolis Bar Association Referral Service at (317) 269-2222 or online. The Coalition for Court Access also provides further resources.

The library is a member of a worldwide network of lending libraries. The Interlibrary Loan service allows law school faculty, students, and staff to borrow materials not available at the law library or other IU libraries or to request copies of materials. ILLiad is the system used to manage and place requests. Law faculty, students, and staff can create an ILLiad profile, then place requests using this account. Circulation staff can assist with these requests. Faculty may also make requests to their library liaisons.

This is a free service. However, payment of charges incurred from overdue or lost material will be the responsibility of the user.

Limits on What Can Be Requested

Materials available from other IU libraries cannot be requested through interlibrary loan. Instead, you must use the Request Delivery service in IUCAT. Also, we will fulfill requests only for research or instructional materials; requests for recreational materials will not be fulfilled.

Please be aware that some types of materials often cannot be borrowed via interlibrary loan. These include:

• multi-volume sets
• recently published material
• entire issues of periodicals
• reference/reserve materials
• rare books/original manuscripts
• video tapes
• some dissertations and theses

Processing Time

It usually takes 7-15 business days for an ILL request to be filled. Delays do occur due to circumstances beyond our control, and occasionally we are unable to fill a request.

Loan Periods and Renewals

Loan periods vary depending upon the rules of the lending library. An average loan period is 4 weeks. Due dates are clearly indicated on the front label of ILL materials. Please return all ILL materials to the Circulation Desk or one of the drop boxes by the due date. If you need a renewal, place a request through ILLiad (or for faculty, through your library liaison) at least 5 days before the due date. Generally, only one renewal is permitted for each item. Please keep in mind that it is the lending library's decision to renew and not all renewal requests are honored.

ILL material is occasionally recalled before its due date by the lending library. We will notify you by e-mail when a recall is made.

Library Liaison

Each faculty member is assigned a research librarian as a liaison. These liaisons can assist faculty by:

• Locating and obtaining resources
• Performing specialized research projects
• Creating bibliographies and research guides
• Conducting citation analysis
• Guest lecturing to classes on specialized aspects of legal research
• Assisting and training research assistants

Email your liaison if you are interested in any of these services. 

Interlibrary Loan

The Interlibrary loan service allows you borrow items and receive copies from non-IU libraries. Requests can be made using ILLiad or through your library liaison. Interlibrary loans will be delivered to your office, mailbox, or email. For more information about delivery, loan periods, and materials that can be requested, refer to the Interlibrary Loan section above.

Document Delivery

The library offers a service for the delivery of copied material (including Request Deliveries and interlibrary loans) to faculty emails, mailboxes, or offices. Requests can be submitted to the Circulation Desk or through your faculty liaison.

Returns

Additional boxes, labeled “Return Library Materials,” for the return of ILLs and IU library materials are located near faculty mailboxes. In order to avoid overdue fines, please send books from other IU Libraries to the library at least three business days before the due date.

Course Reserves

Material for courses can be placed on reserve by contacting the Circulation Desk or call 317-274-4029.  Course Reserve materials typically circulate for two hours unless an alternative circulation period is requested.

Classroom Instruction

The research librarians are available to provide presentations in the classroom on legal research sources and techniques, tours of the library, or customized research guides for your students. If you are interested in these services, please contact your faculty library liaison or Miriam Murphy at mimurphy@iu.edu or 317-274-1925.

Research Assistant’s Guide

The research librarians can provide custom database training and research advice to faculty research assistants. Consulting with a research librarian saves the RAs time and ensures that faculty members receive quality research results. To take advantage of this service, please have your RA contact your faculty library liaison to arrange a consultation.

Exam Archives

The library has a collection of previous exams–some in print, some electronic–as study aids for students. If you would like to add any of your previous exams to the collection, please contact the Circulation Desk.