Institute of Advanced Legal Studies 2012
Library Tour for University of
London LLM students
Introduction

Welcome to the Institute of Advanced Legal
Studies Global Law Library

This tour by PowerPoint aims to give a brief
introduction to Library services for new
University of London LLM students.

It follows coverage of a normal 20 minute
tour around the Library given by Library staff
at the beginning of each academic year
Scope of collection

IALS is one of the largest single subject law
collections in Europe, with over 300,000
books and 3,000 serial titles.

Particular strengths are the laws of the UK,
EU, USA, Canada and the individual
countries of Europe, the Commonwealth
and Latin America. We also have very good
collections of comparative law, private and
public international law, and jurisprudence.
Main users of the library (1)

Effectively the Institute of Advanced Legal
Studies is the national law library and is used
by law research students and law academics
based at universities within the UK and
around the world.

We are also the postgraduate law institute of
the University of London and are used by
postgraduate students from the various
University of London colleges –
Undergraduates are NOT admitted!
Main users of the Library (2)

Practising lawyers can also use the
Library on payment of a fee.

Undergraduate students and students
doing their professional qualifications
are not admitted to the Library, to save
the collection for higher level scholarly
research.
Opening hours

Opening hours are 9am - 8pm MondayFriday and 10am - 5.30pm on Saturday.
The Library is closed on Sundays

These hours are extended over the LLM
exam period (Jan – June) to 9am – 11pm.
We also open on Sunday from 12.30pm –
6.30pm during this time.

The Library is closed for a few days over
Christmas and New Year and at Easter.
Entrance and exit

The Library entrance and exit are on the
4th floor of the main building, which is the
top floor of the library.

You will always need your Library card to
come in to the Library. You simply need
to swipe it under the barcode reader next
to the turnstile.

There is a £1 charge if you forget you
card and a £5 charge for a replacement if
you lose your card
The dos and don’ts

You are welcome to bring bags and coats
into the Library (at your own risk) but you can
hire a locker for a small charge for the year if
you wish. Simply ask at the ground floor
reception desk. We ask that you do not
reserve desks for long periods of time.

Mobile phones must be switched off before
coming into the Library.

Food and drink is not allowed in the Library,
apart from a small bottle of plain water.
Notice boards

There is an notice board for LLM students
next to the main lifts on the 4th floor. This
contains general LLM information, any
amendments (e.g. room changes and class
cancellations) and any Library notices
relevant to LLM students.

There is also a more general Library notice
board just inside the turnstile on the lefthand side.
Subject guides – printed and
online

There are around 25 printed subject
guides aimed mainly at helping new LLM
students. Key areas covered include EU
law, International Economic Law,
Commercial Law etc. These guides detail
our major holdings in these areas (e.g.
key texts, main journals and websites).

These guides are available in print from
the library lobby, and also online.
Online jurisdiction guides



There are also about 30 guides to
different jurisdictions covered at IALS
Library (e.g. the United Nations, USA
Germany, Australia etc.).
These guides cover the legislative and
judicial background of the jurisdiction,
primary and secondary sources and
finding aids.
They are available from our website.
Other Library guides (print and
online)

There are a number of printed Library guides
available in the library including:
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
Finding your way round the Library
Finding journal articles
Finding cases and legislation
as well as guides on our electronic information
services, and on connecting your computer
laptops and using email.
There are also a number of online library
guides on our website to finding different
types of legal information
Issue & enquiry desk

The Issue & Enquiry Desk is located on the 4th
floor in the library concourse area. It is staffed by
two librarians throughout the library’s core opening
hours. All short loan materials need to be checked
out from and returned to this point.

This desk is the only enquiry point in the Library.

Do ask at the desk if you are having difficulties
finding the materials you need.
Self issue/return machine

Out of core staffing hours, when the
desk is closed, it is still possible to
issue and return items using the ‘SelfIssue’ machine, which is located on
the 4th floor library concourse.

Instructions for using this machine are
clearly displayed next to it.
LLM material

We aim to make available all of the law texts
which appear on LLM reading lists. Some of
the interdisciplinary titles may be available
at the relevant college Library.

If you are unable to find a particular title in
the Library do fill out a recommendation
form (available on the 4th floor) or simply let
us know at the Issue & Enquiry Desk.
Short loan & offprint collection (1)

The Short Loan Collection is held
behind the Issue & Enquiry Desk. It
contains the most heavily used core
textbooks on LLM reading lists and
a few journal and law report titles.

You will need your library card to
borrow items.
Short loan & offprint collection (2)

The Offprint Collection is also held at the
Issue & Enquiry Desk. This is a collection of
copies of journal articles and law reports
which have been deposited by lecturers for
use by students on particular LLM courses.
The offprints are arranged in number order.

You can search for offprints in the catalogue
by keyword or by course name. You simply
need to ask for offprints by their “X number” at
the desk.
Borrowing from the Short loan &
offprint collection

You can borrow two textbooks from the
Short loan collection, up to five journal
volumes and five offprints at one time.

All material from the Short Loan and
Offprint Collections is issued for three
hours at a time. After 4.45pm (2.15pm
Sat) the textbooks can be borrowed
overnight until 10am (11am Sat). Items
borrowed on Saturday will not need to be
returned until Monday.
Borrowing from the main collection

You can borrow two books from the Main
Collection for one day at a time. Books are
due back by 7.45pm (5.15pm Sat) the
following day, or Monday if borrowed on
Saturday.

These books can be renewed up to three
times, reservations permitting, either at the
enquiry desk, or offsite by phone or via the
Library catalogue.
Reference material

Being a national research library, much of
our collection is reference only.

Material which is for reference use in the
Library only includes:
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journals
law reports
series of legislation
looseleafs
Items with the classmark RF
Library catalogue (1)

This is quite likely to be the first place you
look to see whether the Library holds the
material you need.

There are several dedicated catalogue
terminals in the Library but it is also possible
to access our catalogue from any PC with
internet access. It is available on our
website.
Library catalogue (2)

The catalogue contains all book and journal titles.

The search options include Author, Title, Keyword, Subject
heading etc.

It is often worth trying more than one type of search if your
first one is unsuccessful. For instance try a keyword search
if an exact title search was unsuccessful.

If you are still having trouble searching then ask at the
enquiry desk for further assistance.
Library catalogue (3)

When you have found the title you are looking
for the catalogue entry will show you a
classmark such as SG75 HIG. You can use our
floor directories or the Finding your way round
the Library guide to find out which floor that
classmark is on.

Please note that the catalogue includes the
holdings of several other institutes so you may
need to check that the location is IALS. It should
be possible to restrict the catalogue to search for
material held at IALS only.
Library catalogue (4)

You may come across the following classmark
entries on the catalogue:

FOL - This stands for folio and means the item is a larger
volume shelved across the corridor from the main
collection on the relevant floor. These sections are
marked on the maps in the Finding your way in the library
leaflets.

Depository/RES - this means the item is held in our
closed basement. You simply need to request the item by
filling out a blue form at the desk. Material can usually be
collected within 15 minutes.
Other Library catalogues

There are links from our Library catalogue front page
(in the Other Resources menu) to union catalogues
which may be useful if you wish to see whether a
title which we do not have is held elsewhere.

These include the Union List of Serials and InforM25
covering academic libraries in the London area and
the national COPAC.

Speak to your college library about how to access
this material.
List of serials - printed

The list of serials is a useful quick reference tool.
It is an alphabetical wall list of all of our current
serial titles (including journals, law reports,
legislation). These are available next to the
Issue & Enquiry Desk, and on every floor
opposite the lifts.

All of the same information is available in our
catalogue but the list of serials can speed up
your search. It gives you the relevant classmark
and floor of the Library, without having to go to a
computer.
List of serials - online

The list of serials is also available on
our website via the electronic law
library. The web list also has links to
any available electronic version of a
title which we hold in paper form, and
also details of journals which are held
only electronically.
Legal abbreviations

You need the full title of a journal or law
report to search for it in the list of serials or in
the library catalogue.

If you need to find out the full title of an
abbreviated serial on your reading list
e.g. ‘All E R’
try the selected list of abbreviations at the
front of the list of serials or the useful web
tool: Cardiff index to legal abbreviations.
Electronic information services (1)

Most of the Library PCs are located on the 4th floor
(on the concourse and in the Electronic Legal
Research Unit). All PCs are open access with no
passwords required. They work on a first come, first
served basis.

All PCs have access to the same resources including
internet access, access to all of our electronic
resources and word processing.

In addition there is also a PC with dedicated special
needs software.
Electronic information services (2)

The main gateway through to our electronic
resources is the IALS Electronic Law Library. You
will find an icon for this page on every PC
desktop.

The IALS Electronic Law Library lists all of our
electronic resources alphabetically with links to
each one, information about the databases,
information regarding offsite access, and in some
cases guides and online tutorials.
Electronic information services (3)

Some electronic resources are available
onsite only. These include the Lexis Library
and Westlaw databases.

These databases should be available offsite
to you via your college library (usually
through an Athens password). Simply ask at
your college library for details.
Electronic information services (4)

We do offer offsite access for UL LLM students to
a number of electronic resources and e-journals,
including:
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HeinOnline database of US law journals
Justis.com databases – including Celex, UK Statutes
and Weekly law reports
Beck database of German materials
Further information is available on the “Services
for University of london LLM students” section of
the website.
Laptops

Laptop computers can be connected at points all around
the Library with the exception of one designated quiet
area on the 2nd floor.

It is possible to access all IALS web based resources via
laptops.

Ethernet cables are available for loan from the Issue &
Enquiry Desk, and wireless networking is in place
throughout the building.

Refer to the Connecting your computer laptop guide for
assistance.
Printing

There are networked printers on the library concourse, in
the Electronic Legal Research Unit and on floor L2.

You need to purchase a copycard first (see
photocopying section below).

Simply send your job to print from an IALS PC, make a
note of the PC number you are at, e.g. Reader12, go to
any one of the printers with your copycard and follow the
instructions provided.
Photocopying (1)

Most of the Library photocopiers are located on
the 4th floor. There is also one down on floor L2.

You can bring material up from other library
floors to be photocopied but please return it to
the reshelving shelves opposite the Library lift on
the relevant floor when you have finished.
Photocopying (2)

You will need to buy a copycard before making either
photocopies or printing.

You can buy a plastic copycard for £1 from a dispensing
machine by the 4th floor photocopiers. It has 20 credits on
it.

You can re-charge this card with coins or notes in
revaluators next to the dispensing machine. 20 credits are
added for every further £1 charged.

If you require a receipt, please ask at the Issue & Enquiry
Desk prior to purchase.
And finally…

I hope you find the IALS Library services
useful to you during your LLM course.

If you have any queries about Library
resources and services do ask at the
Issue & Enquiry Desk or contact us on
ials@sas.ac.uk.
Library map –
th
4
floor
Library map – 3rd floor
Library map – 2nd floor
Library map – Lower 2nd floor