Library catalogue and collections

Accessing our library catalogue and collections

You can access our collections by visiting our library or using our enquiry service.

Library search

Library search lets you search our library collections and our common queries database.

 

Our collections

We have over 19,000 legal practitioner textbooks, spanning from the 16th century up to now. This collection includes over 3,500 current textbooks covering the law of England and Wales.

We also have access to several key textbooks online.

We have over 800 law reports, spanning from the 15th century up to now.

We also have access to an extensive online collection of law reports.

We have over 1,100 journals, spanning from the 18th century to now.

We also have access to an extensive online collection of journals.

We have a large collection of UK Government and parliamentary publications which includes:

  • primary and secondary legislation
  • local and personal Acts of Parliament
  • House of Commons and Lords bills
  • Hansard debates
  • Standing Committee Debates
  • Command Papers
  • House of Commons Papers

We hold primary legislation from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jersey and the Isle of Man including:

  • Acts of the Scottish Parliament
  • selected Scottish Statutory Instruments
  • Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly
  • Northern Ireland Statutes and Orders in Council
  • Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
  • Jersey Statues
  • Acts of the Tynwald

Our library has access to several online subscription databases:

  • Justis vLex – original legislation, case transcripts, case citator and precedent map
  • LexisLibrary – textbook commentary, forms and precedents, current legislation, cases and journals
  • LexisPSL – practice notes, forms and precedents, checklists and practical guidance
  • Public Information Online – parliamentary and official documents
  • WestlawUK – current legislation, cases, journal articles, legal journals index and news

Our corporate archive collection dates back to 1825. The collection has a large variety of materials, including:

  • minutes from the first Law Society meeting
  • Lewis Vulliamy’s architectural drawings of our Chancery Lane building
  • Council and Committee minutes and agenda papers
  • Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority responses to government consultations

Viewing our corporate archive

To view material from our corporate archive, you’ll need to have access to our library.

You’ll need to write to or email our library staff in advance, including details of what you want to see.

Requests for information found in our corporate archive are dealt with under our Freedom of Information Code of Practice.

Donate to our library collection 

We welcome donations to our library collection. Contact our library staff if you have a donation. 

We'll check the condition and relevance of every item before adding it to our collection. We may refuse donations or dispose of accepted items in the future.

See our research guide on how to dispose of your library

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