Using our Library

How do I access my library account online?
Go to http://aquinas.avemarialaw.edu/. Click on "My Millennium." Enter your name and barcode number from your Ave Maria I.D. card.

What is the Reserve Room and what does it mean when something is on Reserve?
Frequently-used items are placed on reserve so that the most number of people can access the materials. Reserve items may be accessed directly in the Reserve Room located off of the main reading room. "Course Reserve" items are materials specifically placed on reserve by professors for their courses and these items must be asked for at the circulation desk. Reserve items have a limited checkout period (usually four hours with a two hour renewal) and may not be taken from the reserve room without being checked out.

What does it mean when an item is "classified"?
Our classified section, also known as our “General Collection,” is kept in the main reading room. Here, all books are classified according to the Library of Congress (LC) call number system (e.g. KF 240 .J32 2004). For assistance in using the LC classification system, please see a librarian or visit http://geography.about.com/library/congress/blhowto.htm.

Where is the microform room and how do I use microform?
Our microform room is located at the northwest corner of the library. For more information on using our microform collection, please see the research guide "Guide to the Microform Collection" or ask a librarian for assistance.

How do I use the online card catalog?
Our library catalog may be accessed at http://aquinas.avemarialaw.edu/. Items may be searched by title, keyword, author, subject, or call number. For more search options, click on "Advanced Search" or access the catalog from http://aquinas.avemarialaw.edu/search/X. From the advanced page, you may also limit your search to certain materials (e.g. print, DVD, or microform) or to certain locations (e.g. reserve items or stacks). However you search, when you do pull up an item record you will notice listings for location, call number, and status. The location refers to what part of the library the item is kept (e.g. classified, reserve, General Collection), the call number listing tells you the Library of Congress call number assigned to that book within that section of the library, and the status listing indicates whether the book is checked out or available. If checked out, the due date will be listed

How do I check out a movie?
Our “Law in Popular Culture” films are located in the Reserve Room. Movies have a three day checkout period and students are limited to checking out three movies at a time.

How do I check out or reserve a group study room?
Group study rooms may be reserved in advance by contacting Alla Sullivant at asullivant@avemarialaw.edu

What is the difference between Circulation, Reference, and Technical Services?
Circulation is that division of the library that deals with checking materials in and out, as well as handling reserves, holds, and library accounts. The Reference department assists faculty and students with their research. The Technical Services department handles all aspects of ordering and processing incoming materials.

What is the difference between primary and secondary legal materials?
Primary materials refer to materials that constitute the law itself - cases, statues, regulations, etc. Secondary materials constitute those materials that are commentaries or explanations of the law (e.g. treatises, law review articles, encyclopedias, etc.).

Where can I find cases?
Court cases may be found in publications named "reporters." Reporters are compilations of judicially decided cases listed in chronological order. Cases may be grouped in a number of different ways - by court (e.g. Supreme Court Reporter), by geography (e.g. North Eastern Reporter), or by topic (e.g. West's Bankruptcy Reporter). Because cases are listed in chronological order, finding a case on a particular topic would be nearly impossible without digests. Digests are publications that index the cases according to topic. Editors read the cases, write short summaries of the different points of law, and then arrange these short summaries (called headnotes) by subject. The digests are composed of these compiled headnotes. Reporters and digests are found in Row 2 of the main reading room of our library. For more information, please see the research guides, " How to Find a Case" and "Case Digests."

Where are statutes found?
Statutes are found in publications called codes. While some codes are officially published by the legislating body itself, commercial publishers often publish the codes themselves and provide annotations. These commercial versions are usually to be preferred over the official codes because of the annotations and the fact that the official codes are often behind in publication schedule. The official version of the federal statutes is the United States Code (USC) and the unofficial versions are the United States Code Annotated (USCA) by West and the United States Code Service (USCS) by Lexis. Ave Maria School of Law has the USC, as well as the USCA and USCS. Federal statutes may be found in row 2 of our library and state statutes may be found along the east wall of the reading room.

Where are constitutions found?
Constitutions may be found within the codes. Thus, the United States Constitution may be found in the United States Code and individual state constitutions may be found within the state codes.

What are pocket parts and advance sheets?
Owing to the frequent updates needed for legal information, it is impractical to republish an entire volume to reflect every change. Thus, publishers print small paperback supplements (pocket parts) that are then added to the back of hardback books to reflect changes within the book. When the pocket part has become too large, the publisher may then publish a supplemental paperback volume to reflect the changes or republish the hardback volume completely. For reporters, new cases will first be published in paperback supplements (advance sheets) before a final hardback volume is published.

What is Shepardizing?
Shepardizing is the process of determining whether a particular case is still binding and good law. To do this, one must use a citator service such as Shepard's or KeyCite. With the electronic citators, you enter in the citation and the citator lists all cases in which that case has been cited. This enables you to then determine whether your case has been overruled or is still good law.

What are AmJur & CJS?
American Jurisprudence (AmJur) and Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) are legal encyclopedias that broadly cover national law. To find an entry, use the indexes located in the last volumes which will then refer you to the main volumes. These encyclopedias provide a good starting point in researching an unfamiliar area of law. In our library, these encyclopedias are located in the Legal Encyclopedia Group Study Room.

What is ALR?
American Law Reports (ALR) is a series of volumes containing articles (called annotations) dedicated to specific legal topics, as well as some cases. ALR annotations go into much greater detail than the more general AmJur and CJS encyclopedias. Use the index at the end of the volumes to locate an annotation in the main volumes. In our library, ALR volumes may be found in the Legal Encyclopedia Group Study Room.

What are Loose-Leafs?
Loose-leafs refer to books with a particular binding (usually that of a three-ring binder) that enables the books to be frequently updated. In our library, these books are non-circulating.

What are Treatises?
Treatises are secondary sources that provide an exhaustive treatment of a particular legal subject. These books may be single or multivolume works. In our library, treatises may be found in the classified General Collection section of the stacks and on reserve.

What are hornbooks?
Hornbooks are books written as introductory explanations of particular legal topics, usually written for law students or those new to a particular subject. Hornbooks may be found in the classified General Collection section of the stacks and on reserve.

What are Law Reviews?
Law Reviews are scholarly publications, generally published by academic institutions and edited by law students. Law Reviews are found in Row 1 of our library.

How do I find English cases?
You may access cases from 1220 to 1865 through our online database Hein Online English Reports. For cases since 1866, see the Westlaw database "United Kingdom Reports All," database identifier UK-RPTS-ALL.