Jerome Hall Law Library Collection Development Policy

I. Introduction

The following collection development and collection management policy is to be used as a guide to the current collection practices of Jerome Hall Law Library, Indiana University Maurer School of Law ("Law Library"). This policy outlines the scope of the collection and conveys the general parameters that guide decisions related to the acquisition, retention, and removal of library materials.

By necessity, this policy is a “living” document that responds to changes in budgets, material formats and availability, faculty research interests, and institutional priorities.

The Jerome Hall Law Library’s collection practices have several goals:

1. to provide reliable and efficient access to a rich collection of legal and law-adjacent information that reflects the research and curricular needs of the faculty and students of the Maurer School of Law and Indiana University’s status as a top-tier research university;
2. to provide access to legal and law-adjacent information for the Indiana University community, Maurer Law School alumni, the Indiana bench and bar, and citizens of the state of Indiana;
3. to provide for the long-term preservation of essential and historic legal information, with particular emphasis on Indiana materials, the federal government titles for which the Law Library is a Preservation Steward by agreement with the United States Government Publishing Office (see section IV.C. below), and certain other primary law materials; and
4. to provide for the preservation and availability of the scholarship produced by Maurer Law faculty.

II. Context for Understanding Collection Development at the Jerome Hall Law Library

Many factors have an impact on the development and management of the Jerome Hall Law Library’s collection.

• Changing format preferences. Although many faculty members still prefer print, students often want materials digitally. Most law firms are entirely digital in terms of their library resources.
• Issues of access versus ownership. Typically, libraries do not own the materials they purchase in digital format. Access to digital materials is licensed and must be renewed on a regular basis. In essence, this turns libraries into renters rather than owners and creates new problems around long-term access, preservation, and ongoing costs. Librarians continuously wrestle with how best to balance access and ownership, and the decisions made vary across both libraries and resources.
• The budgets of Indiana University, Maurer School of Law, and the Law Library. The Jerome Hall Law Library’s is funded almost entirely from the budget of the Maurer School of Law. We currently receive a small amount of funding through donations.
• Out-of-step inflation. With the exception of the pandemic years, national inflation rates have been below 3.5%, and usually well below, since 2000. The cost of legal information resources, both print and digital, has been rising at rates that typically range between 5% and 10% per year. To get the lowest annual increases, libraries must agree to long-term contracts. Over time, difficult choices must be made.
• Cooperation with other libraries. We benefit from the many information resources available through IU Libraries on the Bloomington campus as well as libraries on other IU campuses. As part of the Bloomington campus, we also benefit from the cooperative and consortial activities of the Big Ten Academic Alliance.
• Academic freedom and the responsibility to offer a range of viewpoints. According to Indiana University policy, “[a]cadence freedom is central to the mission of the university. Knowledge cannot be advanced unless faculty and librarians have freedom to study and communicate ideas and facts, including those that are inconvenient to political groups or authorities, without fear of recrimination.” In furtherance of this, “[a]cadence freedom, accompanied by responsibility, attaches to all aspects of a librarian’s professional conduct. No censorship shall be imposed on the librarian’s freedom to select and make available any materials supporting the teaching, research, and general learning functions of the academic community.” ACA-32. The Jerome Hall Law Library collects resources that represent a range of views on the law and law-related topics. We select materials for the collection on the basis of their grounding in appropriate and widely-accepted research methods and their relevance to the needs and interests of Maurer Law’s students and faculty.

III. General Policies

A. Format of Materials

For new purchases, the Law Library prefers digital formats for legal materials of states other than Indiana, international materials, journals, historical resources we do not already hold, treatises, and monographs when packaged by publishers in multi-title groups. Generally, digital access must be: (a) produced by reliable and reputable vendors; (b) made available on a multi-user platform with optimal local access; and (c) available on a long-term basis. In addition, the Law Library provides campus-wide access to electronic resources when it is economically feasible, and interdisciplinary access would enhance the educational mission of Indiana University.

The Law Library purchases Indiana legal materials, many federal materials, reference sources, some treatises and legal forms, and most study aids in both print and electronic versions. This duplication allows the Law Library to fulfill its primary mission of providing for the legal research needs of the Maurer School of Law community while also supporting Indiana University’s goal of providing service to the state.

Other than select monographs and study aids, the Law Library now purchases few items only in print.

B. Duplication

Since the purchase of multiple copies reduces the opportunity for the Law Library to buy other materials, we usually avoid duplication in print. Duplication between print and digital happens more frequently, either for preservation purposes or because of high demand.

An exception is made for publications by members of the Maurer Law faculty. Two print copies are usually purchased, one for the general collection and for the faculty archive. Other exceptions are made at the discretion of the Law Library Director.

C. Casebooks/Textbooks

The Law Library does not purchase casebooks or other law textbooks except under extenuating circumstances and with the approval of the Law Library Director.

D. Gifts of Books

At the discretion of the Law Library Director, the Law Library will accept gifts of law-related books, except for superseded editions of casebooks/textbooks. We do not guarantee that donated books will be added to the collection.

E. Removal of Items & Off-Site Storage

The Law Library regularly removes resources that no longer serve a significant use in the collection. Examples include, but are not limited to, duplicate volumes, superseded supplements, prior editions of casebooks and study aids, and outdated materials without historical research value.

Materials that are rarely used or fragile but are an important part of American law and legal tradition will be considered for off-site storage in IU Libraries’ Auxiliary Library Facility. The Law Library’s print volumes of the Federal Appendix are held in the PalmPrint repository, a cooperative print preservation project of NELLCO, and are available on request.

As a participant in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the Law Library follows the rules for removal of FDLP items as described in the Indiana Disposal List Guidelines for depository libraries.

IV. Scope of Coverage

A. American Law

1) Primary Sources - Federal

The Law Library collects comprehensively the primary materials of the legislative, judicial and executive branches of the United States government.

a) Legislative

In addition to the current collection of legislative materials, such as the session laws, codes, and all Congressional material, the Law Library purchases retrospective Congressional material available through electronic subscription. For current legislative materials, the Law Library prefers both paper and electronic formats.

b) Judicial

The Law Library provides access to federal court decisions in its collection of case reporters and online. With the exception of the U.S. Reports, the Law Library is no longer receiving new print federal reporters but continues to hold its existing print collection.

The Law Library is one of a handful of libraries that serve as depositories for the print records and briefs of cases heard by the United States Supreme Court. These are still being received.

c) Administrative and Executive

The Law Library continues to collect, and is a preservation steward of, the Code of Federal Regulations in print. It maintains a significant collection of other print administrative materials, although access to new materials is largely electronic. Select commercial publications on the regulatory work of the agencies are provided electronically.

2) Primary Sources - State

a) Legislative

The Law Library provides electronic access to the session laws and statutory codes of all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. Indiana session laws and codes are still collected in print.

The Law Library maintains an extensive print collection of historical laws and superseded statutory codes from all states.

b) Judicial

The Law Library continues to collect the North Eastern Reporter in print. Its collection of other print regional reporters, which runs through approximately 2020, is maintained in the Auxiliary Library Facility. Access to state court decisions, both current and historical, is available electronically.

Additionally, the Law Library holds a print collection of records and briefs from the Supreme Court of Indiana and the Indiana Courts of Appeals in the Auxiliary Library Facility. This collection has remained static since the courts ceased distribution in 2016. Access to post-2016 records and briefs is only available electronically.

c) Administrative and Executive

Current access to state administrative codes is provided electronically. The Law Library maintains its historic print collection of the Indiana Register and the Indiana Administrative Code, but neither publication is available in print any longer.

3) Secondary Sources

a) Periodicals

The Law Library provides electronic access to virtually all domestic law and law-adjacent journals as well as numerous foreign and international journals. Other than the journals published under the auspices of the Maurer School of Law, few are still collected in print, and these are mostly international. Our print collection of law journals is housed in the Auxiliary Library Facility.

b) Treatises and Looseleafs

The Law Library provides electronic access to many major treatises and looseleafs. A few are still collected in print.

c) Monographs

The Law Library purchases monographs that meet the curricular and research needs of the faculty, law students, and the University community. While preference is given to scholarly publications and other monographs with a serious research focus, more popular monographs about the law or law-adjacent topics are also collected.

d) Study Aids

Numerous study aids are collected for student use in both print and digital formats.

e) Encyclopedias, American Law Reports, etc.

The Law Library continues to collect most Indiana secondary sources, one of the national encyclopedias, numerous legal and foreign language dictionaries, legal forms, and several federal practice guides in print. Access to American Law Reports and other secondary sources no longer collected in print is provided electronically.

B. Foreign Law and International Law

The Law Library increasingly relies on electronic access for material from foreign jurisdictions, the European Union, and the United Nations. A few print materials are still collected for the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, and others. Existing print collections, such as those from Scotland, Ireland, Nigeria, and the U.N., are being preserved but not regularly increased.

C. U.S. Government Documents

The Law Library is a selective depository of U.S. Government publications through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The Law Library selects materials that relate to law or general information about the federal government, including all administrative agency decisions, all Congressional materials, and publications of the judiciary, the FDLP “Basic Collection,” and other items according to the research interests of the faculty.

The Law Library also subscribes to several commercial databases that provide access to additional government documents and related materials.

The Law Library is an official Preservation Steward for numerous publications from the Government Publishing Office. See Appendix for titles.

D. Rare Books and Archives

The Law Library maintains a rare book collection but does not actively procure new rare materials.

The Law Library serves as the archives of Maurer School of Law and collects internal materials that chronicle the history of the school and its activities.

The private papers of the Law School’s law faculty and those of distinguished lawyers and jurists are selectively accepted for preservation and future access.

E. Audio and Video

The Law Library maintains a physical collection of audio and video materials, including popular films, that are related to the law in some way, but this collection is no longer an area of active development. When new materials are requested, they are generally purchased for streaming. 

Appendix

Publications for which the Jerome Hall Law Library is a Preservation Steward.

• Analytical Perspectives and predecessors Current and Historic
• Budget of the U.S. Government, Major Savings and Reforms Current and Historic
• Budget of the United States Government / Appendix Current and Historic
• Code of Federal Regulations, CFR Index and Finding Aids Current and Historic
• Congressional Directory Current and Historic
• Congressional Globe Historic
• Congressional Record (Bound) Current and Historic
• Congressional Record [Index] (Bound) Current and Historic
• Constitution of the United States, Analysis and Interpretation Current and Historic
• Debates and Proceedings in Congress (Annals of Congress) Historic
• Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board Current and Historic
• Economic Indicators Current and Historic
• Economic Report of the President Current and Historic
• FCC Record Historic
• Foreign Relations of the United States and predecessors Current and Historic
• Journal of Executive Proceedings of U.S. Senate Current and Historic
• Journal of the House of Representatives Current and Historic
• Journal of the Senate Current and Historic
• Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications Historic
• Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Dept. of Justice Current and Historic
• Public Papers of the Presidents Historic
• Register of Debates in Congress Historic
• Reports [Tax Court] Current and Historic
• Revised Statutes of the United States Historic
• U.S. Congressional Serial Set Current and Historic
• United States Code Current and Historic
• United States Reports Current and Historic
• United States Statutes at Large Current and Historic
• Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Historic