Arrangement of Print Collections in the Law Library

What's in the Reference Area Collection

The Reference Area contains a relatively current working collection of primary sources for U.S. and Washington State law and key secondary sources. In general, material located in the Reference Area has a shorter checkout period than materials in other parts of the collection. Material in the Reference Area is arranged by Library of Congress call number.

Primary Law Sources

• Washington State statutes, codes, regulations, case reporters, court rules, and legislative history sources
• U.S. (federal) statutes, codes, regulations, and court rules
• reporters containing opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court
• selected federal selected agency decisions
• selected state statutory codes and court rules

Secondary Sources

• Washington practice materials
• hornbooks and study aids for law school courses
• selected major legal treatises on many subjects (most of which have been cancelled in recent years so please use at your own risk)
• looseleaf services (most of which have been cancelled in recent years so please use at your own risk)
• legal encyclopedias (Am.Jur) and American Law Reports (ALR)
• restatements
• periodical and treaty indexes
• dictionaries, digests (all cancelled) and directories

Using the Classified Stacks

Most of the material that users borrow from the Law Library is located in the Classified Stacks, which start on L1 (A-KNX920) and finish on L2 (KNX920-Z). "Classified" in this context just means "put in order by call number" not "top secret!". Like most of the Library's other collections, the Classified Stacks are self-service. Users may browse the collection and select items to read and/or check out.

Types of Materials in the Classified Stacks

Most of the material that can be borrowed from the Law Library is located here, including books, treatises, practice guides, continuing legal education materials, bar publications, foreign legal materials, and more.

Compact Stacks

All of the moveable shelving in the law library is located on the library's lower floor (L2). We call the collections housed in moveable shelving "Compact Stacks"

Compact Stacks Periodicals

Most of the law library's collections of print law journals and other periodicals (materials that are updated by printing new issues, rather than new editions) are housed in the front row of compact shelving on L2.

Arrangement of Periodicals

Unlike most of the rest of the collection, our periodicals collection is not arranged by call number. Instead, it's arranged in alphabetical order by journal title (Alabama Law Review is near the front, with the Wisconsin Law Review near the end).

Law Library Briefs Collections

The Law Library houses four separate collections of appellate court briefs, which are some of the most unique items in our collection. Please see our briefs guide for more information about coverage.

Arrangement of Briefs Collections

All of the law library's print briefs collections are on L2 in the back row of moveable shelving ("Compact Stacks"). Each separate collection is arranged by docket number.

Specific collections, in the order in which they are housed:

• Washington Supreme Court briefs
• U.S. Supreme Court briefs
• Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals briefs (back near the rear elevator and the L2 restrooms)
• Washington Appellate Court briefs (close to the far wall, near room L201)