The William M. Rains Library is an integral part of LMU Loyola Law School. Its primary responsibility is to support the instruction, scholarship, and research mission of the Law School by providing expert research assistance, innovative instructional programs, and access to a robust collection of both print and digital information resources. The Law Library also provides access to legal materials to the LMU community, Law School alumni, and members of the bench and bar.
As one of the largest private law libraries in the western United States, the William M. Rains Library holds over 326,000 physical volumes, and provides access to over 2.7 million electronic titles, of which nearly 170,000 are e-journals. The collection includes primary legal materials for all U.S. jurisdictions as well as an extensive collection of secondary sources for California law. In addition, the Law Library has a collection of international, foreign and comparative legal materials. The Law Library also collects resources in political science, economics, social science, philosophy and other disciplines that augment the legal collection.
The Law Library subscribes to an extensive array of digital resources encompassing U.S., foreign and international legal materials. These databases can be found through the Library’s catalog or through the Databases page. The LLS community - faculty, students and staff - also has remote access to LMU library's electronic resources.
As a service to the LLS community, the Law Library maintains a Popular Reading Room with both fiction and non-fiction titles. Included are works about the City of Los Angeles and about Frank Gehry, the architect of the Loyola Law School campus. The Popular Reading Room also highlights a rotating display of history, heritage and other diverse reading material. The Law Library also makes an extensive collection of documentary and popular films available to the LLS community.
The Law Library has an on-going commitment to the intellectual development of the LLS community through its programs of collection development, research assistance, student wellness, facility enhancement and technology. For questions about the Law Library, its services and resources, please contact the Reference Librarians.