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Skirmish of the Services Featuring Law Library Services
The Skirmish of the Services competition offers a look at the many services provided by the Law Library and its staff. Ready to Vote?
Some services you may use all the time, like our popular Book Concierge Pickup service, while others may be new to you. Do you know we have a special archive of the law school's 70-year history in the basement?
We've organized our "teams" into 4 clusters:
Browse the descriptions of these services below to learn more and vote for your favorites each week.
Which library services are integral to the Villanova Law experience? Will it be a slam dunk or any service's game? You decide!
Voting
Round of 16:
Vote Here February 26 - March 14 @12 PM
A-List Eight:
March 14 - March 21 @ 12 PM
Terminal Four:
March 21 - March 28 @ 12 PM
Championship:
Vote March 28 - April 7 at 12 PM
Voting links will be available as each round begins.
Online Resources Teams
Whether you're on campus or off, the law library has you covered!
Team Digital Repository
Our repository features over 39,000 articles and individual pieces, had over 700,000 downloads in the past year, and has had over 5 million downloads since it began in 2012.
And we're part of the Digital Commons Network which adds our journal articles, faculty scholarship, and other materials to a global database of free, open access scholarship from a multitude of disciplines!
Whether you're on campus or off, the law library has you covered!
Team Search.Law Catalog Search
With one click of the search button, you can search across our library's print and online resource collections, Falvey main campus library's print and online resources, and through the databases and titles highlighted in our library research guides. Or search them individually, if you prefer!
Not sure which online database might have your particular title? No problem, our Search.law catalog includes records from Bloomberg Law, HeinOnline, Aspen Learning Library, Lexis Digital Library, Lexis, PLI Plus, VitalLaw and Westlaw with hyperlinks to take you right to the publication you're looking for.
Just start typing and the smart search will suggest matching titles for you. And you can make use of our powerful subject tags to find related materials, just like browsing the print bookshelves to find other titles on the same topic. 
Found a print title you want? Search.law gives you its location and call number so you can grab it yourself or request it through Law Library Book Concierge service and we'll have it checked out and waiting for you in the Book Pickup Area.
Whether you're on campus or off, the law library has you covered!
Team Research Guides
Working on a seminar paper or researching for a practical writing exercise? Looking for a podcast to pass the time on your commute or workout? Trying to figure out where to even start when your externship supervisor asks you to compile a legislative history for a Pennsylvania statute? Working with a new piece of legal tech at your summer job and just need a user guide or other guidance? The Law Library has compiled more than 60 research guides, sometimes called "Libguides," on these topics and many more. Why reinvent the wheel when you can find one page linking the most used and most respected print and online resources for a given practice type or practice area?
Browse the list, search by keyword in the search box at the top or use the "By Subject" tab to view guides by practice area.
Icons are used throughout the guides to indicate:
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the resource's format (print 
, ebook 
, audio 
or video resource 
),
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the research platform where it can be found (
, 
, 
, 
and others)
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and other attributes (
, 
, 
) to help sort through the various types of materials available.
Library Places and Spaces Teams
Team Front Desk
The Law Library's Circulation Desk serves as the hub for the entire library. Even if you haven't checked out a book lately, you've seen our friendly staff who greet you each day and really get to know our students, staff, and faculty.
Our front desk offers many different services: 
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Check out a book you found in the stacks
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Renew items that were checked out
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Check out a book from our Reserve collection to use in the library
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Grab a paper clip or staple that brief you've be working on
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Check out some headphones or a book stand to help you study
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Misplaced something in the Law School? See if it's been deposited in our Lost and Found
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Have a question but not really sure who in the building to ask? Ask at the Circulation Desk--we'll get you to the right contact!
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And we couldn't do it without our Law Student workers who staff the desk on evenings and weekends! (Contact Prof. Kearney if you're interested in joining our team!)
Team Display Case
The first thing you see when you enter the Law Library are our display cases which capture so many different aspects of life here in the Law School. Our displays aim to capture the diversity of people and experiences of our community and featured items may include:
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trophies and awards from past competitions
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items from our historical archives
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flyers and materials for upcoming library and law school events
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themed displays for holidays, focus areas, or other special collections
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and new publications from faculty, students, and staff
Our displays change frequently and sometimes include interactive games and puzzles so don't just walk on by, stop and check them out today!
Team Book Pickup
One of our newer library offerings, the Law Library Book Concierge Service allows you to request a book from our print collection simply by pasting in the URL for that title. Our Circulation staff then goes to work, retrieving the book, checking it out to you and placing it in our Book Pickup area where you can swing by and grab it on your own schedule, 24/7. 
Course packets are also placed in the Book Pickup area as they arrive at the beginning of each semester as are materials requested through interlibrary loan.
Team Study Rooms
Want to compare notes on this week's Contracts reading or prep with your partner for your mock deposition? The Library Study Rooms provide the perfect space for your next group meeting! There are 2 study rooms on the third floor, 2 on the second floor and 2-3 on the Lower Level (depending on availability). Click on the Info button by each room to see their exact location.
Each study room is equipped with large white boards and you can find dry erase markers and headphones available for checkout at the Circulation Desk. Study rooms can be reserved online for a maximum of 2 hours per 24-hour period.
You can use this same link to reserve the 3 Law School Study Rooms found in the 3rd Floor Classroom wing.
TIP: Need a private room for an interview? Career Strategy has some available for you!
Specialty Services Teams
Team Maura Buri Memorial Excellence in Student Research Prize
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The Law Library awards an annual prize to the best researched paper produced for an academic course (seminar or directed research).
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The research prize is named after Maura Buri, who worked at the Villanova Law Library for 54 years.
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Student work is evaluated on the following criteria:
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Sophistication, originality, or unusual depth or breadth in the use of research materials, including, but not limited to, print resources, electronic search engines and databases, primary and secondary legal resources, interdisciplinary resources, and empirical resources as described in the research description memo
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Exceptional innovation in research strategy, including the ability to locate, select, and evaluate research materials with discretion as described in the research description memo
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Skillful synthesis of research results into a comprehensive scholarly analysis as demonstrated in the paper
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For more information, including application procedure and a list of previous winners, visit the Research Prize webpage.
Team Study Aids
Located just around the corner from the reference desk is the study aids section. This section of the library is where you go to deepen your understanding of course materials, or to get an overview of a new area of law.
The Law Library has access to many types of study aids including:
* Acing Series
* Understanding Series
* A Short & Happy Guide
* Examples & Explanations
* Principles Series
* Questions & Answers Series
Be sure to check out the Aspen Learning Library and Lexis Digital Library which contain ebook versions of several types of study aids!
Study Aids are an amazing resource! Come check them out today (pun intended) and help yourself stay ahead! More study aids can be found on Reserve (4-hour check-out) or in the library stacks.
Would you like more information? Check out our research guide on study aids!
Team Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
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Ever needed a book or article and Villanova didn’t have it? Well don’t stop there! Utilize Interlibrary Loan (ILL)! The Law Library provides ILL services that can get you a book or article from almost anywhere in the world!
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Digital requests are generally filled in a couple of business days!
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Physical book requests can take a few days to a couple of weeks to arrive.
Team Special Collections
A good librarian believes that all of their collections are special, but sometimes we have to recognize that some are more special than others! The Villanova Law Library Special Collection includes four collections that provide a unique opportunity for our law school community to review rare materials that may not be found anywhere else.
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Enid Adler International Criminal Court Collection: Attorney Enid Adler participated in the creation of the ICC and donated her complete documentary record of that development to the Villanova Law Library.
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Alexander Charns Freedom of Information Act Collection: Attorney Alexander Charns spent years reviewing FBI records of J. Edgar Hoover’s secret activities to influence Supreme Court decisions. The collection at Villanova Law School includes his notes and many of the results of his Freedom of Information Act requests.
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Digital History of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law: Our digital archive contains records of significant events,
milestones, and publications of Villanova's law school since its founding in 1953. This collection includes the full run of student-run newspaper The Docket, yearbooks, photographs, commencement programs, and more.
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Print Archives of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law: Contains 249 boxes of documents, photos, and artifacts of the law school from its founding to present day. Some items in the archive include T-shirts, DVDs, blueprints, and other collectables.
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Third Circuit Court of Appeals Mirror: The Law Library hosts an official mirror repository of every case published by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.
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Government Documents: Villanova Law Library is a member of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and provides free public access to Government Documents (GovDocs). Gov Docs are documents created by Federal agencies. The library provides print and digital access to these materials. Some things that are covered include books, reports, maps, congressional hearings, agency decisions, census data, budgetary documents, presidential documents, and government statistics.
Librarian Services Teams
Team Research Trainings
Who is that mystery guest lecturer? It's your friendly Law Librarian delivering a research training customized to your seminar, clinic, or organization. We sit down with your professor or work with your organization's leadership to tailor a training specifically to the subject matter and unique aspects of your assigned research, including addressing the issues and materials required by your assignments.
Often we create research guides in conjunction with these research trainings so you can refer to them as you continue your research throughout the semester and even use them beyond graduation. Some examples are the Advanced Intellectual Property and Cyberlaw Guide, Criminal Law (Police Conduct seminar), Family Law, Immigration & Asylum guide (CARES/FLAC Clinics) and many others.
Librarians teach several PD sessions during the year. Some past topics have included transactional legal resources, non-legal/fact-finding research, federal legislative history, researching employers, and AI and legal research.
Librarian also serves as a resource as you work on your assignments. Sometimes the best teaching moments are those one-on-one follow-up visits where we can provide even more specialized
assistance for researching your particular topic.
We also offer customized training for the law journals both to help students prepare for the Write-on Competition and as part of their orientation when they begin work as staff writers. Think your student group could benefit from a workshop on researching a particular area of law? Drop us a line at reference@law.villanova.edu - we'd love to customize a training just for you!
Team Legal Research Classes
The 1L Legal Research course gives you a great foundation on the basics of research but as with many things in life, there's always more to learn! Want more time to dive into legal research sources in depth? Have an interest in a particular practice area or type? Just looking for ways to increase your confidence as a researcher? We've got you covered! Our law librarians offer these upper-level electives to help you fill in the missing pieces:
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Advanced Legal Research (2 credits): covers many advanced topics like regulatory research, legislative history, fact-finding research, business intelligence research, research planning as well as transactional and litigation-specific resources.
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Corporate and Transactional Research (2 credits): focuses on business intelligence research, researching and drafting tools for contracts and other transactional documents, resources for drafting a 10K report, M & A due diligence resources, corporate compliance and governance resources and similar topics.
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Intellectual Property Legal Research (1 credit): covers resources and search techniques for researching patents, trademarks and copyright both in the US and internationally.
Check out the course catalog for full descriptions of each course.
Team Research Consultations
Hitting a wall while researching for your seminar paper? Got a tricky question from your externship supervisor and you're just not sure where to start? Having trouble landing on the right search terms while gathering info for your casenote? You don't have to go it alone-law librarians are here to help! 
We're happy to meet with you in person or via Zoom. Someone is on-call to provide Reference (research support) Monday - Friday 9 AM - 5 PM. Our digital display will tell you who is on now or ask at the Circulation desk and they'll point you in the right direction!
And because questions don't always pop up during normal business hours, you can also email reference@law.villanova.edu, your 1L Legal Research instructor, or another librarian on our staff and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Our research support doesn't end at graduation--alumni are always welcome to contact us with questions!
Team Summer Reference
Summer's not all fun in the sun! Externships, summer employment, and research assistant jobs mean research, which also means research questions. But we won't leave you adrift in the pool! Law librarians are here to pull you out of the deep-end! We even offer mini research sessions on specific databases or tailored for student organizations or other groups.
The Law Library is open all summer long and Law Librarians are here Monday - Friday, 9-5, to help tackle those questions! And you do have access to your Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg accounts over the summer (just check out this guide for some restrictions on use)
and 
and 
but we offer many others including:
