Student Services
Research Assistance
- Subcite Support
The Library provides broad support to journal subcites including: subciter training; tables and shelf space in the Langdell Reference Room; and reference assistance.
The Library's three reference departments strongly encourage students to consider a research paper consultation to assist you in defining your topic, locating resources and materials, and identifying potential research problem areas. Students working on a third year or graduate paper are especially encouraged to make an individual appointment with a reference librarian.
The Library's reference librarians produce research guides on a wide variety of topics including: guides to researching U.S. federal and state law as well as foreign, international and comparative law; guides to using the library; and guides to using various electronic resources.
- Research Outside of Harvard
We are a member of the RLG SHARES partnership. Our faculty, students, staff and librarians are entitled to access to other SHARES libraries, subject to each library’s local access policies. If you intend to visit another SHARES library, we suggest that you contact that library in advance for materials that may be located offsite. View a list of SHARES institutions.
- InstaClass: Legal Research Instruction Made to Order
What's an InstaClass? A class designed especially for you (and four or more fellow students) on any legal research topic. The Library's legal research specialists will design a class specifically to meet your needs – whether preparing for a law firm or public interest job, working on a clinical project, getting ready to write a research paper, or just curiosity. Any group of 5 or more law students can order a custom class. (Individual research consultations are also available to students researching for a major HLS paper.) To request a class, please complete this form and we will call or email you to set the date and time. Typical subjects include administrative/regulatory research, treaties and international agreements research, securities law research, immigration law research, tax research, legislative history, EU research, free and low-cost legal research, or research in a foreign jurisdiction, policy research, statistical research, and much more.
General Services
Carrel shelves are available for qualified students who anticipate using a large amount of Law Library materials. Further information is available on applying for a carrel shelf. Carrel applications require a signature from your research advisor (typically an HLS faculty member).
Law students may reserve one of the Library's three group study rooms located on the third floor of Langdell Hall. Reservations must be made in person at the Langdell Circulation Desk. Rooms may be reserved for a minimum of two people and for a maximum two-hour period.
Printing is available throughout the Library and in the computer lab in the basement of Hauser Hall. Print accounts are set up for HLS students automatically at registration and maintained throughout the duration of their degree programs. These accounts track print costs incurred by students at public printers. During the first week of every month (from October through May), Term Billing will be sent for any amounts accrued over the course of the previous month for billing to students. Students may, if they wish, pay down these monthly accruals (before they are sent to Term Billing) or pay against future accruals via cash transactions at Information Technology Services (ITS) in Hauser 030.
Print copies are 5 cents per page. HOLLIS catalog web pages are free. All new students are given a one-time $10 free-printing allocation to start them off. For more detailed information, please go to HLS public print system contents page.
In the Law Library, photocopies cost 10 cents per page. The majority of the Library's photocopiers require payment using a Crimson Cash account. Crimson Cash is a payment method using either a Harvard ID or a Crimson Cash card. Crimson Cash cards may be purchased in the Photocopy Room on 3S in Langdell Hall and at other locations University-wide. A Crimson Cash account provides access to many products and services on campus. Further information is available.
Bound volumes of past HLS exams between 1970 and 1995 are available on Permanent Reserve at the Library circulation desk. Answers are not included. For more recent exams, see the Annual Examination Book Archives maintained by the Registrar's Office.
The Law School Library Interlibrary Loan Service is offered to Harvard Law School students, faculty and staff. If you need a book or article that the Library does not own, the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Office may be able to borrow it from another library. You are encouraged to consult with a Reference Librarian prior to completing a request form. He or she can assist you in locating materials at the Harvard libraries as well as locating full text electronic resources to save you the time waiting for interlibrary loan (ILL) materials to arrive.
Library Computer Services manages the nearly one hundred workstations, thirty laser printers, five hundred high speed internet jacks, and wireless network portals housed in the library. All library workstations are configured for general legal research, word processing and email.
Services for Students with Disabilities
The Harvard Law School Library is committed to making its collections accessible to all scholars and researchers. More specific information regarding how the Library can assist in addressing issues related to accessibility is available. Additional information for students with disabilities is available from the Harvard Law School Dean of Students office.