Today Hamline's law school library is rich in print and electronic resources that takes up two floors of the law school building, but it actually started in the trunk of Professor Biernat's car. The collection then spent some time on shelves in the basement of Drew in the then law library, until it found its way to its new home,the current law library,in the early 1980's.
The first Library of Congress included legal materials along with everything else. It wasn't until January 20, 1832 that New York senator William L. Marcy introduced a bill to "increase and improve the Law Department of the Library of Congress." The bill was passed and signed by President Andrew Jackson on July 14, 1832. A sum of $5,000 for the "present year" was given to purchase law materials, with an additional $1,000 annually for the next five years. The titles to be purchased were selected by the Chief Justice. Over 2,000 law books were transferred from the general collection of the Library of Congress and were the beginning of a collection in the Law Library of Congress that now exceeds two million volumes.
The Minnesota State Law Library was created by an act Congress on March 3, 1849. They were also given an initial sum of $5,000 to start their collection. In the 1870's the Supreme Court took responsibility for selecting titles to be purchased for the library, which emphasized books on law and the theory of law.
Law libraries have endured through the centuries with the support of people like Thomas Jefferson, Congress, Presidents, and the American Bar Association. They are here to help you make the best of your education!
