Tarlton Law Library/The Joseph D. Jamail Center for Legal Research
The Tarlton Law Library in the Jamail Center for Legal Research supports the research and curricular needs of the students and faculty of the School of Law, as well as the research needs of the University community, members of the bar, and the public. The highly qualified library staff provides reference services, offers individual and group instruction, and maintains and organizes the collection for efficient use. Lawyer-librarians teach advanced legal research in a range of topics, including Texas law, corporate and securities law, foreign and international law, and general research methods.
The Tarlton Law Library is one of the largest academic law libraries in the country, with a physical collection of more than a million volumes and extensive electronic resources. In addition to a comprehensive collection of United States primary and secondary legal materials in print and digital formats, Tarlton has a broad interdisciplinary collection from the social sciences and humanities. Special collections at Tarlton include significant foreign and international law resources; the papers of former United States Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark; feature films and fiction related to law and popular culture; and the Gavel Archive, a collection of feature films, TV shows, and fiction related to law and popular culture, all candidates for and winners of the American Bar Association’s prestigious Silver Gavel Award. Tarlton is a depository for United States, European Union, and Canadian government documents. Its extensive collection of rare and antiquarian law books includes noted collections of early legal dictionaries, Texas law, and the works of John Selden.
Tarlton offers law student access to Bloomberg Law, Lexis Advance, and Westlaw Edge, the major online legal research services. Computers, a building-wide wireless network, printers, and scanners are available for law student use. The facility has group study rooms; a student collaborative study space; and tables, carrels, and comfortable seating throughout. The Tarlton Law Library website offers online resources and finding aids, including digital collections highlighting Texas legal history and law school traditions.
Almost 1,000 paintings, prints, documents, textiles, and pieces of furniture from the Hyder Collection enhance the ambiance of the library and create an intellectually rich environment for research and study.