The law library's mission is to provide law faculty and students with all of the resources needed to conduct the highest quality legal research. Our goals are directed toward providing assistance to anyone conducting legal research. The library meets these goals in four distinct ways: 1) a competent and professional library staff 2) a comprehensive collection and access to other collections, 3) legal research training for first year students and organized opportunities for second and third year students to develop their skills and 4) new library facilities. The law library is open over one hundred hours each week and on the average, sixteen hours per day. Reference hours are provided daily and during peak days until nine in the evening.

A Competent and Professional Library Staff

Eight professional librarians are available to assist law library patrons. The professional library staff is highly trained and skilled in legal research. Although the library staff is relatively young, they have ninety years of collective professional experience. Three librarians have both Law Degrees and Master's Degrees in Library and Information Science. Four librarians have Master's Degrees in Library and Information Science. One librarian has a Law Degree. Four librarians, individually, have more than twenty years of library experience; and three librarians, collectively, have twenty years of library experience in the practice of law.

A Comprehensive Collection And Access to Other Collections

The library houses approximately 350,000 volumes and volume equivalents. The library has an annual budget of approximately one million dollars to purchase library resources. The library subscribes to electronic legal databases including Lexis and Westlaw that are only available to law faculty and law students who have completed the first year legal research class. Students and faculty are able to access these electronic services via the Internet. The library also participates in a statewide consortium called TexShare, that permits our patrons to borrow materials directly from other TexShare libraries. Interlibrary loan is also available. Finally, the library is a selective government depository. We select federal government materials that assist law library patrons and the general public in accessing information from the federal government. The library provides computers for patrons to access the Internet and other online resources.

Legal Research Training For First year Students and Organized Opportunities for Second and Third Year Students To Develop Their Skills.

Several law librarians teach legal research. The legal research class is a component of the Lawyering Process Class that is taught to first year students during their first semester.

New Library Facility

The law library reopened in a new facility on October 1, 2004. It houses library study rooms, carrels, computer laboratories and has a wireless network for 500 simultaneous users.

The library solicits your questions and suggestions and asks that you employ the services of the professional staff to assist you with your research projects. The library staff is here to assist you in whatever way that we can. Come Early, Stay Late and Come Often.

DeCarlous Spearman
Interim Director Law Library

Texas Southern University
Thurgood Marshall School Of Law Library
3100 Cleburne St.
Houston, Texas 77004