LAW LIBRARY MAINTENANCE

One of the most important tools used by lawyers in performing their duties is legal research. The effectiveness of legal research depends on how well legal reference materials are maintained and kept up to date. As an LN, you play an important role in the upkeep of the library. At the same time, you will need to know how to arrange the materials in the library, how to file these materials, how to keep these materials up to date, and how to keep track of these materials. There are no standardized methods prescribed for maintaining a law library; however, the following discussion and suggestions should help you in performing your duties as a law librarian.

ARRANGEMENT

Having a definite arrangement of materials contained in the law library will help you keep track of these materials as well as making it easier for those using the library to locate specific reference materials. The first step you should take in arranging these materials is to determine where the various materials are located. Not all the materials contained in the library will be kept in a central location. You will probably find that some of the lawyers will want to keep specific materials in their offices for ready reference. You may also find, especially in large NLSOs, that the materials related to

Figure 2-4.-Library layout for small- or medium-sized library.

specific areas of law, such as military justice, legal assistance, and claims, should be kept in the spaces of the division primarily concerned with those specific areas. Even though some of the materials contained in the library are located in various offices, there are certain materials that should be kept in a central location. These include such materials as finding tools, reporters, and certain sets containing statutes. A definite arrangement is needed in the central library for these particular materials to help you and those individuals using the library to locate specific References quickly and easily. The arrangement of the materials kept in separate offices should be left up to the individuals controlling those offices. However, the accountability for these materials is still your responsibility since they are part of the law library.

Legal research frequently entails the use of several books simultaneously. Observe someone researching the law and you will see that person find a point of law in one book, then obtain another book to help develop that point, then refer to another book to develop it further, and so on until that person has refined it to its most effective point. This process involves the examining of a law from many varied sources. The physical arrangement of the library should be established in a manner that will permit the researcher to reach each of these books with a minimum of wasted motion. Space and equipment limitations will dictate the most effective layout for your library. Figures 2-3 and 2-4 show two sample arrangements.

The following suggestions may be helpful to you in determining the arrangement of the materials in your library. 

. Organization by major subject-In some libraries, the books are shelved in groups based on their major subject content (military justice, criminal law, or admiralty law).

l Organization by type of publication-This involves the arrangement of the materials by the type of publication, such as encyclopedias, journals, treatises, statutes, and reports.

Either of these methods is effective or as an alternative, a combination of these methods may be used in arranging the materials in the library. Whenever you use one of these suggested methods or some other method of your own design, you should first take a look at what types of materials are contained in the library and then make a determination as to which method or methods would work best.

MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES

The importance of properly filing, updating, and accounting for the materials contained in the library cannot be overemphasized. This should be accomplished immediately upon receipt (or upon completion of office routing) of any new materials. There can be no excuse for an error caused by using an out-of-date lawbook when the update is sitting off in a corner. The following hints are given to help make your job easier in these areas.

Filing

As you begin working with the various types of materials contained in the law library, you will discover that the publishers of these materials have designed the format of each publication to allow for frequent and continuous updating. This is necessary to keep up with the constant changes that occur in the laws that govern our states and country. The methods used to update these materials vary with each publisher, but the most common ones that you will work with are loose-leaf supplements, pocket parts, interim pamphlets, advance sheets, bound volume replacements, and hound volume supplements. Because of these variances, you should carefully read any instructions the publishers have prepared about the proper methods to make changes and updates to their published materials. Let's take a look at these seven methods and see how they are used to keep the materials in your library up to date. . Loose-leaf supplements-As the name implies, these materials are loose-leaf and are usually kept in special binders previded by the publisher. U.S. Law Week, published by the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), and the Military Law Reporter, published by Public Law Education Institute, are examples of looseleaf services you may find in the library. U.S. Law Week is designed to keep lawyers current on selected new

laws, regulatory agency interpretations of new and existing laws, and recent opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts. The Military Law Reporter is designed to keep military lawyers current on selected new laws, regulations, and directives of the armed forces, and recent opinions of the U.S. Court of Military Appeals and the published and unpublished opinions of the Army, Air Force, and Navy Courts of Military Review.

You should file these loose-leaf supplements as soon as possible after receipt. Special emphasis should be placed on following the filing instructions-this may appear time-consuming but is often the quickest method to make sure the loose-leaf service is properly maintained. . Pocket parts-These supplements are published periodically (usually annually) and are designed to fit into a pocket provided by the publisher inside the book cover of the bound volume for which the pocket part has been printed. The U.S. Code Annotated (U. S.C.A.), published by West Publishing Company, uses the pocket part system. It is important, when filing pocket parts, to make sure each pocket part is placed in the proper volume and the outdated pocket part is discarded. . Supplementary pamphlets-These are sometimes published as an alternative or an addition to a

pocket part. They should normally be shelved beside the volume(s) they supplement. Instructions on the pamphlets will inform you of whether or not you should discard the pocket parts. The U.S.C.A. usually contains several supplementary pamphlets at any given time. . Interim pamphlets-These are published at various times, usually to update a set between issuance

of annual pocket parts or other periodic updates. For example, U.S.C.A. pocket parts are published around March and normally include all updates through the last calendar year adjournment (session) of Congress. Then, usually in June, September, and November-but these months can vary-the publisher will issue an interim pamphlet to incorporate laws passed since the last session. Not many sets contain interim pamphlets, but the instructions on those received should be followed closely. . Advance sheets-These are paperbound volumes, usually prepared and sent out before the printing and publication of the hardbound volumes. The Military Justice Reporter is the most common set that uses these advance sheets. These advance sheets should be placed on the Shelves immediately following the latest

BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY SIXTH EDITION Publisher: West Publishing Company One Volume Location: SJA's Office, Room 101

Figure 2-5.-Catalog card.

hardbound volume and should be discarded when they are replaced by the appropriate hardbound volume. Hardbound volumes may contain revisions of the advance sheets, a good reason for discarding the advance sheets when you receive the hardbound volumes. l Bound volumes replacements-Bound volumes are often published to replace outdated volumes in a set, sometimes two or more new volumes will replace an old volume. In these cases, the old volume should be discarded. The U.S.C.A. normally receives 12 replacement volumes each fiscal year. l Bound volume supplements-Occasionally a supplement is published in the form of a bound volume, in that case you do not discard the basic volume but merely shelve the bound volume supplement next to it. If a pocket part is later published, it will state whether it is to be placed in the rear of the basic volume or the supplementary volume. The U.S.C.A. frequently contains several bound volume supplements.