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The Law Library Reading Room Is Moving

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The plans for the Law Library Reading Room‘s renovation have been finalized, and we are preparing to move operations to the ground floor of the Madison building during construction.  This will be a complicated operation taking about three and a half weeks to shift to our temporary space.  For those of you who have visited us in the last two or three weeks, you have seen the first steps in this undertaking as Library staff has disassembled and moved out shelving from the Reading Room to the temporary space.  Beginning on Monday, September 15th, library staff will start shifting the Reading Room’s collections.  Some of these materials will be moved to the temporary Reading Room.  However, because we are moving to a smaller space, we will not be taking all our current collections with us.  The remaining materials will be housed in the Law Library’s closed stacks throughout the renovation period but will be retrieved for patrons once everything has been moved and the temporary space is open for business.

Patrons will be able to access the current Reading Room while the collections are being moved.  Law Library reference staff will work with patrons during this period to locate second copies Reading Room materials in our closed stacks which can be ordered through ACS.  We will also work with patrons to find the materials they need in other formats (online, microfiche) as well as providing information about other local law libraries which may have the materials they need.

Common wisdom holds that a move is one of life’s great stressors; it certainly seemed that way to me that last time I moved.  The kitchen cupboards seemed to have grown deeper and were filled with items I did not recognize!  Moving a reading room and staff offices is likely to be taxing on staff and patrons alike, but the final goal is a completely renovated Reading Room scheduled to open in mid-2015.   Once the renovation is completed and we return to LM-201, all our Law Library Reading Room collections will be reunited in this new space.  We are looking forward to our renovated space, which will have new shelving and patron terminals, new tables with WiFi access, a room for teaching classes and displaying exhibits, and a new reference desk for staff!

Removal of shelving from Law Library Reading Room / Photograph by Andrew Weber
Removal of shelving from Law Library Reading Room / Photograph by Andrew Weber
Removal of shelving from Law Library Reading Room / photograph by Andrew Weber
Removal of shelving from Law Library Reading Room / photograph by Andrew Weber

Comments (9)

  1. I would like to come to it some day when you guys finish it thank for that information friend
    it look nice so far to what I see on my web site

  2. It sound like the move will be worth the stress!

  3. Thanks for this renovation . I wish you completed it as planned at mid 2015. Best regards.
    Albert Lutete

  4. Thank you for keeping me informed.

  5. Good luck with the move to all of my friends at the Law Library of Congress!

  6. Do you have additional details that you are able to share so VSO can direct researchers?

    We need to know:
    1. How long Law Reading Room will be accessible before renovation begins.
    2. Where the temporary reading room will be located
    3. When the renovation is expected to be completed.

    Thank you,

    • The current Law Library Reading Room in LM201 will be open through this Thursday, October 9. We will be closed this Friday and Saturday, October 10 and 11th. Our temporary space is located on the ground floor of the Madison Building in Room LMG15 and will be open on Tuesday, October 14th. We hope the renovation will be completed by mid-2015.

  7. Removal of shelving from Law Library Reading Room – beautiful!

  8. beautiful !

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