Can I order a book to be held for me in the Law Library Reading Room in advance of my visit?
If you have an active Library of Congress reader identification card, you may access the LOC Catalog and order most items in the law classification to be delivered to the Law Library Reading Room delivery shelves in advance of your visit. Items will be held on the delivery shelves for 48 hours and returned to the stacks if not picked up.
*New in November 2023* Librarians from the Law Library of Congress recently produced a short video tutorial on Searching the Library of Congress Catalog for Legal Materials. In this video, learn how to search the Library of Congress's catalog to find legal materials in the Law Library's collection, how to request items for delivery to the reading room for your on-site use, and how to identify materials located in various collections of the Law Library that may require special processes to request. Additional pre-recorded webinars, tutorials, and events are featured on the Law Library's Legal Research Institute: Past Presentations.
Established by Congress in 1832, the Law Library has a collection of over 2.65 million volumes spanning the ages and covering virtually every jurisdiction in the world.
We cannot provide legal advice, interpretation, or analysis which could be interpreted as the practice of law; extensive bibliographies or legislative histories; or answers for student homework assignments.
