Scholarly Research
In welcoming jurists, professors,
graduate students and others to take part in its scholarly research
program, the Law Library at the Library of Congress strives to
make participants' experiences mutually beneficial. The program
seeks support for the Law Library in its mission to serve the
foreign, international and comparative legal research needs of
the United States Congress, as well as to advance the goals of
scholarship in law and related fields generally, to foster the
development of future scholars, potential legislators, and practitioners,
and in addition, to make the Library's vast resources, including
treasured items representative of the world's diverse legal heritage,
more widely known to the public it serves.
The Law Library at the Library of Congress is the world's largest
law collection. Although the Law Library primarily functions as
a research arm for the U.S. Congress in foreign, international
and comparative law, it also carries out legal research for all
branches of the US Government. In addition, the Law Library is
a de facto national law library serving the public, including
scholars and interns, from the US and abroad. The Law Library
especially wishes to increase the use of its collections by scholars
in order to support various aspects of its mission to serve Congress
and the nation.
The Law Library as a Site for Scholarship:
The Law Library's collection of over two million legal volumes,
including 25,000 rare law holdings, presents scholars interested
in law and related fields with an extraordinary resource. Together
with an estimated 300,000 works in constitutional history and
international law located elsewhere in the Library of Congress,
these holdings have no parallel. In some instances, the Law Library's
foreign law collections even surpass those found in the countries
of origin.
Scholars will find the location of the Law Library an ideal site
for interdisciplinary research. Working in the Law Library, scholars
have access to some 116 million items, in 470 languages, through
the Library's 20 general and special purpose reading rooms. The
Library's proximity to the Capitol, House and Senate office buildings,
and the Supreme Court affords an opportunity for firsthand observation
of US federal legislative and judicial processes.
Reference librarians, many of whom have advanced degrees in both
US law and librarianship, give readers in-person assistance in
using the 65,000-volume reference collection in the Law Library
Reading Room. For more in-depth assistance, readers may be referred
to the Law Library's research divisions (Eastern Law or Western
Law), where help from the staff of multilingual, foreign-trained
legal specialists or research and reference support staff is available
(i.e., Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
Using the Law Library: Scholars
needing to consult the Law Library's collections are urged to
contact the Law Library (202-707-5080) in advance of their visit
to Washington to ensure that the items they need will be available
from the closed stacks. This is especially important for rare
items. Patrons will need photo identification to use the collection.
To hear a recorded message regarding hours of opening and book
service and other information concerning Reading Room use, call:
(202) 707-5079.
Those who cannot visit the Law Library or participate in one
of the programs described below may avail themselves of the assistance
of the Law Library's reference staff by telephone: (202) 707-5080;
or by correspondence:
Law Library, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-3000.
For special group research orientation tours of the Law Library's
resources, call (202) 707-9836.
Scholarly Programs: To
foster projects that will be of mutual benefit to the mission
of the Library and to create an environment conducive to in-depth
research, the Law Library has established a scholarly program
with three options. Residencies for scholars, scholarly exchange
arrangements and graduate internships are available. The kinds
of projects most likely to be approved by the Law Library include
those which:
- carry out a bibliographic survey of some previously untapped
aspect of the Law Library's vast collection-especially of its
rare holdings-or which bring a previous publication up-to-date;
- evaluate one of the Law Library's collections and identify
gaps in its holdings;
- explore some aspect of current legal developments of interest
to the US Congress-especially in a foreign jurisdiction for
which staff resources are scarce-and deliver either a written
or oral presentation on the topic;
- carry out a mutually beneficial multi-disciplinary research,
one facet of which includes law.
Scholars in Residence:
Jurists, judges, government lawyers, law professors, and other
legal scholars and practitioners are welcome to apply
for resident scholar status at the Law Library. Applications should
state specifically the topic of the proposed research project
and the estimated time expected to complete it. As space is limited,
the Law Library may need to restrict the number of participants
in a program.
Scholars Abroad: Senior
scholars living abroad who are unable to travel to Washington,
but who wish to participate in supporting the Law Library's research
mission should contact the Law Library
to explore suitable projects.
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Graduate Internships:
U.S. and foreign law students working towards advanced degrees
may apply for an internship at the
Law Library. Possibilities for mentoring are limited, and the
most successful project proposals for graduate internships are
those whose parameters are clearly defined and do not engage Law
Library staff in time commitments that might conflict with congressional
priorities.
GLIN Internships: The Law
Library of Congress is interested in offering opportunities for
interns to gain experience the performance of a variety of editing
and quality review functions for its Internet-based legal information
system, the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN). GLIN links
legislatures of many nations in a network of legal information
exchange. Interns would gain valuable experience assisting in
the development of a multinational legal information system used
by legislators and government officials around the world.
Interns should be currently enrolled in accredited law programs
in law schools in the Washington, DC area or have law degrees
from US or foreign law schools. In addition to English language
competence, including knowledge of spelling, grammar, and punctuation
rules, native competence in one of the following languages is
required: Arabic, Korean, Lithuanian, Romanian, Spanish and Ukrainian.
Cover letters stating interest, including a resume, should be
sent to:
Janice Hyde
Program Officer
Law Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20540-3000
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Other Opportunities
Opportunities for Attorneys:
The Law Library of Congress would like to compile a list of qualified
attorneys at law with law degrees from foreign countries and licenses
or certificates to practice law in one or more foreign jurisdictions
for the purpose of potential consideration for contract to perform
specific research tasks on an ad hoc basis. Proficiency in written
English is required, and experience in or knowledge of writing
in-depth, analytical studies for policy makers and government
officials is preferred. US citizenship or residence is not required.
Individuals who are qualified and interested in being considered
for potential contract work should send a resume or curriculum
vitae to:
Director of Legal Research
Law Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20540-3000
Application Process :
Those interested in Scholars in Residence,
Scholars Abroad, or Graduate
Internships programs should complete an application
and return it to the Law Library's Scholarly Program Coordinator
(see address below). Notifications of decisions are made in one
month from the receipt of the application.
Program Coordinator, Scholars' Program
Room LM 240, Law Library
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20540-3000
Tel. (202) 707-9836
FAX: (202) 707-1820
Important Information for Program Participants:
- Scholars-in-residence, scholars abroad and interns in this
program will not be reimbursed by the Law Library for work done
in connection with the program or for transportation and room
and board.
- Participation in the Law Library's scholarly program does
not guarantee publication of a participant's work product. The
Law Library maintains the right to edit scholarly work that
it plans to publish.
- The Law Library requests the right of first publication of
a work resulting from an author's participation in the program.
This includes an entire work or significant portion of a work
completed during a scholar's stay and may be the subject of
a specific contract. After the first publication by the Library,
the author may copyright and privately publish his/her work.
- Graduate students may receive credit for their work only upon
the basis of the mutual agreement between the student's educational
institution and the Law Library that the participant has satisfactorily
completed the work expected.
- The Law Library may terminate a program at any time for breaches
of security rules, infringement on the works of others, or conduct
inconsistent with the Library's role as a national research
institution.
- Facilities: Scholars in residence
will be assigned workspace and limited use of Law Library facilities,
e.g. photocopy privileges. They will receive orientations to
the Law Library and the use of the Library's online bibliographic
and legislative databases. To facilitate the scholar's orientation,
a member of the Law Library's research staff may serve as a
primary contact for individual scholars. Resources do not permit
research assistance or secretarial services for resident scholars.
The Law Library cannot provide stipends to any participants
in its scholarly programs and cannot be responsible for transportation,
housing or other personal needs. Lists of local housing are
available for scholars' convenience, but these listings are
not to be construed as endorsements by the Law Library.
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