Director's Welcome

Welcome to the MacMillan Law Library at Emory University School of Law. The mission of the Law Library is to support fully the scholarly pursuits of the faculty and students of the College of Law.  To fulfill its mission, the MacMillan Law Library offers an active program of legal research instruction, an experienced and helpful staff, and extensive collections of law and law-related information.

The collection of about 400,000 volumes and volume-equivalents includes primary and secondary resources in United States and British law as well as international law.  A wireless network throughout the library provides easy access to a growing list of databases and to the Internet.  The Law Library’s materials are fully catalogued on discoverE, the online catalog shared with the University Library.

The resources available to Emory Law’s faculty and students extend far beyond the MacMillan Law Library’s own holdings.  The collection of the University's Woodruff Library and several other school and departmental libraries, including extensive holdings of U.S. and U.N. documents, health sciences materials, and the riches of Emory’s Manuscripts and Archives Library is available a short walk from the Law School.  Law School students and faculty also enjoy access to both premier electronic legal research utilities: LexisNexis and Westlaw.  A host of other databases are available through the Woodruff Library and other Emory University libraries, and through the Internet, making the MacMillan Law Library a particularly rich destination for doing interdisciplinary research.

The MacMillan Law Library’s staff of seventeen is undoubtedly its prime feature.  The staff includes ten professional law librarians, seven of which are dual-degreed attorney librarians.  With the exception of the director, all of the dual-degreed librarians serve at the reference desk and have subject specialties or additional skills that extend far beyond the typical.  Seven Advanced Legal Research courses are taught by MacMillan’s librarians, and MacMillan boasts a highly regarded and innovative faculty services program.  There are seven full-time dedicated and efficient paraprofessional staff members who help keep the library running.  Law Library staff members provide a full complement of library services such as circulation, interlibrary lending, reserves, acquisitions and document delivery.  

The MacMillan Law Library building was opened in 1995.  As such, it is a newer, more modern, attractive, and comfortable facility.  Its unique design allows for a lot of natural light to enter every level of the building.  There are dramatic, three-story atrium spaces, and cozy, quiet reading areas.  The building has over 400 seats for its patrons, including carrels, tables and comfortable soft seating.  The Law Library has a new Archives Room that houses Law School archives and notable collections of papers and other materials, and there are ten group study rooms that may be reserved for individual or group use.  There is a large and growing collection of feature film DVDs patrons may check out for personal use and comfortable reading areas for browsing our popular reading materials.  The Law Library has numerous public computers, two top-of-the-line book eye scanners, and a microform reader/printer.  Emory’s law students and faculty members have access to the MacMillan Law Library seven days a week.

One unique feature of the MacMillan Law Library is its art collection, mounted throughout the building.  There are unique pieces in many styles.  While MacMillan is first and foremost a law library and not an art gallery, its art displays have proven to be very popular with Emory Law’s faculty and students.  There are regular showings of paintings, photographs, lithographs and other visual arts by local artists.  These displays of local artists’ works change at least three times a year.  The revolving displays bring interesting, unusual, and truly beautiful art for MacMillan’s patrons to view and enjoy. 

I hope you will explore the many resources available at the MacMillan Law Library by taking full advantage of our website and by visiting us in person. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome, and I encourage you to contact me personally to share them.   

Mark Engsberg signature

 

Mark Engsberg

Director of Library Services and Assistant Professor of Law

mark.engsberg@emory.edu