Collection Management Policy for Law
1. A detailed description of the collection
1.1 Purpose and description
The main purpose of the Law collection is to support the teaching and research
needs of the Faculty of Laws. Its subsidiary function is to support other departments
within UCL which require legal materials.
1.2 Readership and access
The collection’s main readership is UCL undergraduate and postgraduate students
and the collection management policy is determined primarily by their needs.
Due to the demands placed on the collection, access by students from other
institutions is restricted. University of London students are given reference access
but those from other universities are excluded except during UCL vacation periods.
Academic staff and researchers from other institutions are welcome to make use of
the collection at any time.
1.3 Description and holdings
1.3.1 The collection consists of approximately 50,000 volumes of primary and
secondary materials, including over 20,000 monographs and over 290 current serials.
1.3.2.1 Monographs
A wide range of textbooks and monographs is held, covering all subjects taught by
the Faculty as part of the LLB as well as the main LLM subjects.
In most areas the collection is sufficient to support postgraduate level teaching.
However, the Roman Law collection is of research level and of regional and national
importance. The Jurisprudence and Family Law collections are also particularly
strong but not of research level.
There is no separate official publications section. Selected government and
parliamentary papers from the UK and overseas are integrated into the classified
book sequence.
1.3.2.2 Periodicals
There are over 130 current journal titles held, which are arranged alphabetically by
title in a single sequence.
1.3.2.3 Databases
A range of full-text and bibliographic databases are subscribed to including Westlaw
UK, Lexis Library, Hein Online, and the Index to Legal Periodicals.
1.3.2.4 Legislation and law reports
A wide, but not comprehensive, range of primary material for England and Wales is
held. This is augmented by a more restricted selection from other mostly common
law jurisdictions, specifically: Australia, Canada, the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland,
New Zealand, Scotland and the United States.
Some primary material for Russia is held in the form of official gazettes and is
shelved as part of the periodicals sequence. Selected codes from France, Italy,
Germany and Spain are also held and shelved as part of the classified book
sequence. Otherwise, there are no significant holdings of primary materials from
other countries as these are available at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and
other libraries (see subsection 1.5 below).
The main European Union and international primary materials held are a selection of
treaty series and reported decisions of courts and tribunals.
1.3.3 Current location
The collection is housed in the Donaldson Reading Room in the Main Library, Wilkins
Building.
1.3.4 Material held off site
All non-current journals and most other types of non-current serials are held in offsite storage at Wickford and can be consulted on request at 24 hours notice.
1.3.5 Special collections
Particularly old or rare material is held by UCL Special Collections. The majority of
these collections are currently located at The National Archives in Kew.
1.3.6 Relationship to collections in UCL
Other collections within UCL Library which either include significant amounts of
relevant material or support aspects of the Faculty’s teaching and research are:
Human Rights for human rights and civil liberties materials; Environmental Studies
for planning and construction law; SSEES Library for Soviet and Russian law; Clinical
Sciences and Life Science collections and medical library sites for medical ethics and
bioethics; Public Policy for constitutional and administrative law. Additional relevant
material can also be found in the History, Philosophy, Geography, Anthropology and
Economics collections.
1.3.7 Relationship to collections outside UCL
Staff and students have access to a number of significant collections in institutions
outside UCL. Whilst UCL is not involved in any formal collaborative collection
management arrangements with them, their holdings are taken into account in
making collection management decisions.
The most import external resource is the Library of the Institute of Advanced Legal
Studies, which is the primary research collection for law in the University. It has
extensive holdings of primary materials from the UK, USA, Commonwealth countries
and EU member states. It also acts as the main resource for the University of
London’s intercollegiate LLM programme and collects all materials necessary to
support the full range of subjects offered by participating institutions.
The other main collections are:

The School of Oriental and African Studies, which holds primary material from
Asian and non-Commonwealth African countries.

The University of London Library at Senate House, which is relied upon for UK
official publications.

The London School of Economics, which is a depository for the European Union,
United Nations and USA official publications and has extensive holdings in these
areas.

Queen Mary College, which has good holdings of commercial law and King’s
College which has good holdings of medical law and medical ethics.
2. Acquisition
2.1 Responsibility for selection
Selection of materials is undertaken by the subject librarian for Law within the
framework of the Collection Management Policy and with regard to advice and
recommendations from academic staff. Recommendations are always welcomed.
Final responsibility for collection management lies with the Director of Library
Services.
2.2 Subjects collected
Material is collected on all subjects taught as part of the LLB and other
undergraduate programmes plus the main LLM subjects offered by the Faculty.
These are:
Jurisprudence
Legal History
Constitutional and Administrative Law
Criminal Law
Criminology
Contract
Tort
Company & Commercial Law
Employment Law
Land Law
Intellectual Property
Equity
Family Law
Conflict of Laws
Public International Law
European Union Law
Material is also collected in other areas where the collection has long standing
strengths, in particular Roman Law, and, where funds allow, in other areas of known
Faculty staff research interest, such as Environmental Law.
Requests for purchase of related non-law material from Faculty staff will be passed
to the relevant subject librarian for consideration.
2.3 Acquisition priorities
First priority is given to acquiring all materials necessary to support the LLB and other
undergraduate courses offered by the Faculty. This includes background as well as
primary materials and core textbooks.
The next priority is to acquire secondary materials to support the LLM subjects
taught by the Faculty. The Library of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies takes
the lead role in acquiring a full range of materials for all the subjects offered on the
Intercollegiate LLM programme. Accordingly, foreign primary materials required for
LLM subjects are not collected.
The third priority is to continue to support the existing research level collections of
Roman law.
The final priority is to acquire material to support the research interests of Faculty of
Laws staff and maintain existing strengths in the collection.
2.4 Level
Material is collected at undergraduate and taught postgraduate level. Research level
material is collected as funds allow. Practitioner material is not collected unless
specifically requested by academic staff in support of specified courses or is essential
for the study of a particular subject area.
2.5 Language
Material is collected primarily in English, except where suggested by academic staff
or where it is to support teaching of other European legal systems when it is
collected in the relevant language.
2.6 Format and medium
Material is collected in print and electronic formats only.
2.7 Collaborative collecting agreements with other libraries
None in place
2.8 Multiple copies
Multiple copies of core texts and other books marked as essential on reading lists
will be acquired as funds allow.
2.9 Donations
Gifts and donations will be accepted in line with the criteria set out in the Library
Services Donations Policy. In general, material will only be accepted if it is relevant to
current or anticipated courses or is consistent with the existing subject profile of the
collection. Duplicate items will not normally be accepted unless they constitute
material identifiable as in heavy demand. Incomplete periodical runs and material in
bad physical condition are not normally accepted. The Library reserves the right to
deal with donated material in the way it deems most appropriate, including disposal
if it is no longer required.
2.10 Exchange and deposit arrangements
None in place
2.11 Material not collected
Practitioner works and other non-academic materials are not collected unless
requested by academic staff for a specific course.
3. Retention and preservation policies
3.1 Review of the collection
The collection will be reviewed annually to apply the retention, preservation,
relegation and disposal policies set out below
3.2 Use of open access space
Priority will be given to high and medium use material in the allocation of space.
Material required for teaching will be retained on the open shelves except where it is
duplicated in electronic format, when it may be relegated to store at the discretion
of the subject librarian. Rarely used research level materials will be removed from
the open shelves where necessary to accommodate more frequently used material,
while superseded and out dated material will be removed from the open shelves as a
matter of course. Periodical titles which have ceased publication or which are no
longer subscribed to will be removed from the open shelves. Rare or particularly
valuable material will not be held on open access.
3.3 Relegation
Any material may be relegated to store at the discretion of the subject librarian. Low
use material will be relegated to store where necessary to accommodate more
frequently used material on the open shelves. Periodical titles which have ceased
publication or which are no longer subscribed to will be relegated to store.
3.4 Retention and disposal
Superseded editions of undergraduate textbooks and cases and materials books are
disposed of. Other material will be retained unless it is judged to be of little value to
future scholarship when it will be disposed of. Research level collections will be
retained. Where material is relegated to store only one copy will be retained, any
additional copies will be disposed of.
Until formal and binding collaborative collection management agreements are
entered into, no consideration will be given to the holdings of neighbouring libraries
in making retention and disposal decisions.
3.5 Preservation
The collection is included in the overall Preservation Policy for Library Services
Policy review procedures and dates
This policy will be reviewed and approved periodically by the Laws Faculty Library
Committee
Last review date: May 2014
Suzanne Traue