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Library

Access Policy | Law Library Card Policy | Public Access | Borrowing | Inter-Library Loan | Holds, Recalls | Fines | Food and Drink | Noise | Theft

Access Policy

The Santa Clara University Law Library is a private library. Access is limited to Santa Clara University faculty, staff, law school students, along with alumni who purchase a library card.

Non-Law SCU students have restricted access to the library collection upon presenting a valid pass from the University Library staff to Law Library staff. Click here for a listing of other Bay Area law libraries.

Access Policy for Law School Graduates

SCU Law School Graduates

SCU law school graduates may continue to use all law library facilities and borrow circulating materials until the first day of the month immediately following the first Bar exam after graduation, which is August 1st for May graduates and March 1st for December graduates.

During this period, your Access Card will continue to work in Charney Hall. Your Network ID will continue to be active for 90 days following your graduation date. At the end of this 90-day grace period, your Network Account will be deactivated, and you will no longer be able to access Google Apps email or use the SCU wireless network. Please be aware that SmartPrint funds are removed after graduation. You will need to add money to a flex account on your Access Card in order to print in the library. Finally, you should be aware that Lexis and Westlaw will limit or eliminate your access to electronic research databases at some point after graduation (check with Lexis or Westlaw representatives for exact dates).

Beginning on the first day of the month immediately following the first Bar exam after your graduation date, your borrowing privileges, computer lab access, and conference room access will terminate. SCU law school graduates may request continued access to the library at no charge for up to two years after your graduation date or until you pass the Bar exam, whichever comes first. If two years or more have elapsed since the date of graduation, all SCU law school graduates must purchase a law card in order to obtain access. Borrowing privileges are only permitted to SCU law school alumni who are members of a state bar. See rate under Law Library Card Policy.

SCU law school graduates who have passed a state Bar exam must purchase a Law Library Card in order to obtain continued access and borrowing privileges at the Santa Clara University Law Library. The Law Library Card access does not include access to classrooms, conference room, or study rooms. Currently, the law library charges an annual fee of $100 for SCU Law alumni.

Please visit the library services desk or call us at (408) 554-4072 to discuss reinstating access privileges or to inquire about purchasing a Law Library Card.

Studying Environment at the Santa Clara University Law Library

The library welcomes graduates who wish to use the law library to study for the Bar exam. However, individuals who are preparing for the Bar should be aware that the library will remain fairly busy during the weeks before the exam as faculty, current students, and other patrons continue to use the library during this time. While we strive to minimize noise in study spaces as much as possible, the library staff’s daily activities, including furnishing reference assistance to patrons, providing library tours, shelving and updating materials in the collection, and repairing equipment, will occasionally generate some noise in library study spaces.

Parking

You must have a valid parking permit if you park your car on SCU property, or you will be subject to citation. You can purchase parking permits from the Campus Safety office in the first floor of the parking garage. Contact Campus Safety with parking questions at (408) 554-4441.

Alumni Attorney Courtesy Card Policy

SCU law school alumni who are licensed attorneys in good standing with any state bar in the United States may purchase an attorney courtesy card to use at the Mabie Law Library at Santa Clara University.

An attorney library courtesy card can be purchased from staff at the Library Services desk by providing:

  • A valid driver’s license or passport; and
  • A bar membership card or other documentation verifying you are a licensed attorney
  • A current address, phone number, and e-mail

You may pay by cash or check only. Checks should be made out to “SCU Law Library.”

LICENSED SCU ALUMNI ATTORNEY COURTESY CARD

  • $100.00 per year
  • Includes borrowing privileges 
  • Access to the library during library hours (https://law.scu.edu/library/library-hours/)
  • Library VIP Card

This rate allows alumni courtesy card holders to designate one full time employee to use their account and use the same card. An additional card for a designated employee is $25. To designate more than one employee, you must purchase a courtesy card for each additional user at the applicable courtesy card rate. The attorney who purchased the original courtesy card remains responsible for all overdue fines and replacement charges incurred by the designated employee.


Courtesy Card Privileges & Limitations

  1. The library gives first priority to SCU law faculty, staff and law students.
  2. Courtesy card holders have access to most of the print collection and to research librarian assistance. Courtesy card holders may not borrow microforms, material on course reserve, periodicals, law reviews, SCU law school exams, or material designated as “non-circulating” or “library use only.”
  3. Two computer stations are available to search the online catalog or access the Internet. Guest Printing and guest Wi-Fi are available to courtesy card holders. Photocopying is not available.
  4. Courtesy card holders can access LEXIS or WESTLAW on the two computer stations if they have their own personal LEXIS or WESTLAW accounts. Due to licensing restrictions, the Mabie Law Library cannot provide courtesy card holders access to these databases, including Lexis and Westlaw.
  5. Courtesy card holders may not use the study rooms in the law library.
  6. Courtesy card holders may not request materials through interlibrary loan at the law library.
  7. The Law Library reserves the right to limit use of certain library equipment to SCU law faculty, staff and students during periods of heavy use.
  8. Replacement fee for a lost card is $25.
  9. The library card grants access to the library during library service hours only. 

Public Access Policy

The Mabie Law Library at Santa Clara University is a private library open to Santa Clara University (SCU) faculty, staff and law school students. SCU law school alumni who are licensed attorneys can purchase a law library card to gain access to the Mabie Law Library. All other individuals do not have access to the Mabie Law Library.

SCU undergraduate and non-law graduate students do not have access to Santa Clara University Law Library as a study space. Students must provide a pass to the law library from a University staff member to access material not available at the University Library. 

The law library is not available to bar exam takers from other law schools. 

Librarians and faculty from other schools or libraries must make prior arrangements with a Mabie Law Library research librarian and/or the library administration to gain access to the Mabie Law Library.

General members of the public do not have access to the Santa Clara University Law Library. Please use the Santa Clara County Law Library to access legal materials:

Santa Clara County Law Library
360 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 299-3568

Open: Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm.

Closed: Saturdays, Sundays and all major holidays

Staff at the Santa Clara County Law Library can issue a one day pass to access the Santa Clara University Law Library if they do not own or cannot obtain the material needed. Please give this pass to the Santa Clara University Law Library circulation staff and sign in to the visitor log to gain access. This pass does not grant borrowing privileges or use of certain resources. Access will be denied during SCU law school examinations, even with a pass.

Borrowing and Renewal Policies

Patrons with borrowing privileges must present a valid Access Card/Mobile Credential or Law Library Courtesy Card to borrow materials. Not all patrons have the same borrowing privileges or access to material. Generally, patrons with borrowing privileges may check out circulating material from the stacks for 3 weeks, from the California Collection for 3 days, and from the Reserve Collection for either 2 or 24 hours. Most periodicals, statutes, case reporters, and reference material cannot be checked out. If you have questions, please contact the Library Services Desk at (408) 554-4072.

Patrons may renew checked-out materials in person at the Library Services Desk, by phone at (408) 554-4072, or online. Renewals on some materials may be limited or restricted. Material that has reached the maximum number of renewals must be physically returned to the library.

Inter-library Loan Policy

Interlibrary Loan is a service which provides materials not available in the Santa Clara University Law Library or on the Santa Clara campus. This service is available to law students, faculty, and staff. ILL staff will attempt to borrow books, or obtain copies of journal articles needed for scholarly research. Besides books and articles, selected dissertations, theses, and microforms may also be obtained through Interlibrary Loan.

ILLiad is the new resource-sharing software used by the Santa Clara University Law Library. ILLiad allows you to place Interlibrary loan requests, track the status of your requests, check due dates, request renewal of items you have, and view your request history.

How Do I Request an Item? Requests for interlibrary loans should be submitted through our web form.

What is the Turnaround Time? Materials are usually received within 5-14 working days but this depends on how quickly other libraries respond to our requests. Patrons should be aware that we try our best to obtain requested items as quickly as possible, but it is always best to anticipate your needs when placing requests.

What is the Loan Period? The lending library determines the loan period, which can be a week to a month. The borrower is responsible to the lending library for overdue fines and must abide by the rules and policies of the lending library. Due dates are written on a book band that will be wrapped around the cover of the requested material.

How can I renew an ILL book? Most books may be renewed unless the book band indicates “NO Renewals”:

  • Log in to your ILLiad account
  • In the “Main Menu” (left side of the ILLiad screen) under the “View” section click on “Checked Out Items”.
  • Click the Transaction Number for the item you want to renew.
  • Click “Renew Request” in red above the Transaction Information, and the ILL staff will submit your renewal request.
  • Renewals usually take less than 24 hours.
  • Write the new due date on your book band.

How will I know my materials have arrived? Santa Clara Law faculty, staff, and, law students will be notified by e-mail when their requested material arrives. Interlibrary Loan materials are always picked up and returned to the Circulation Desk. All requested articles are sent via electronic delivery to the patron’s ILLiad account.

What materials can I NOT request via ILL?

  1. Books being used in law school classes
  2. Books on reserve for law school classes
  3. Books available via the Link+ system

Please note that interlibrary loan items are for short-term use only.

Holds and Recall Policy

Patrons with borrowing privileges may place a hold at the law library circulation desk on materials currently checked out to another patron. A hold prevents renewals of this material. When the item is returned to the library, law library staff will place the item on the hold shelf for a limited number of days and notify the patron who placed the hold. If the patron who placed the hold does not pick up the item by the deadline specified by law library staff, the library will either reshelve the item or check it out to the next patron who requested the item. Material designated for Course Reserve, processing or updates will be recalled by library staff. A recall may reduce the due date for checked-out materials. Every effort will be made by staff to contact the patron by phone and email. The library may impose additional fines if patrons do not return hold or recall items by the due date.

Fines

Library material is considered overdue the day or hour after the due date, depending on the type of loan period. The library imposes fines of 25 cents per day (or 25 cents per hour) on overdue materials. Overdue material with a hold is also assessed a one time $2.00 “In Demand” fee in addition to the regular overdue fines. The library imposes a fine of $2.25 per day or hour for overdue materials that are also subject to a hold. Patrons who lose library material will be charged the list price of the item (or $100) and a $20 processing fee. Patrons with SCU library fines that exceed $10 may not renew or borrow materials until they pay outstanding fines. The library may restrict patrons’ library privileges and/or place a hold on patrons’ library or academic records if patrons have not paid all fines in full by the end of the semester in which fines were assessed. Patrons pay fines at the law library circulation Desk; the library accepts cash, checks, or flex account funds. For more information please review our Library Regulations & Fine Schedule. Food, Drink, and Smoking Policies

Food, Drink, and Smoking Policies

Food, drink and smoking are strictly prohibited in the library. However, patrons may bring drinks in approved spill-proof mugs into the library. Bottled drinks and cardboard coffee cups, even with a cover, do not qualify as an approved, spill-proof container. Patrons will be asked to enjoy their food and drink outside the library if they are found to have them inside the library.

Noise and Cell Phone Policy

The primary purpose of the library is to create a quiet and stress-free environment for patrons to study and do research. Please be considerate and keep conversation and noise down while using the library. Cell phone use is not permitted in the library — please make and take calls outside the library.

Theft Policy

The Santa Clara University Law Library is not responsible for any lost or stolen items. We highly discourage patrons from leaving personal items unattended in the library. Under no circumstances will the library staff or student assistants agree to keep personal belongings (i.e., Laptops, Backpacks, etc.) for patrons at the service desks. The following are the only exceptions:

  1. It is permissible for SCU Law School or SCU related groups or faculty/staff to place materials for distribution at the side of the law library circulation desk counter after seeking approval from law library staff.
  2. Written materials to/from instructors, groups or individuals to be picked up by others may be kept for short periods of time at the law library circulation desk.

What Should You Do If You Experience A Loss Of Personal Belongings? Check your surroundings to see if personal belongings were misplaced

  • Check your surroundings to see if personal belongings were misplaced
  • Check the following locations that have a Lost and Found:
    • Circulation Desk, 554-4072
    • Benson Information Booth, 554-4000
    • Campus Safety, 554-4441
  • Notify the Access Office in Benson if you lose your Access Card, 551-1647
  • Notify Campus Safety in the Parking Structure to issue a theft report, 551-4441
  • Check back later to see if your belongings were turned in to the Circulation Desk

To Minimize Future Loss Of Personal Belongings:

  • Don’t leave any valuables unattended for extended periods of time
  • Don’t assume friends or nearby classmates will protect your items
  • Be aware of your surroundings

Notify Circulation Staff immediately if you notice suspicious patrons or activity in the library.

Policy Regarding Patrons With Disabilities

The law library makes every attempt to meet the needs of patrons with disabilities. All areas of the law library are wheelchair accessible, including several carrels and computer stations. If you require accommodations in order to access the library, please contact the law library circulation or Research Services staff. Additional resources for patrons with disabilities are available at the Office of Accessible Education. 

Non-Disclosure Policy

Library patron records are considered strictly confidential and protected by state and federal law. The library will not disclose the contents of a patron’s record to any third party unless the library is required to do so by federal or state law.