Louis L. Biro Law Library
Circulation Services
Circulation Desk
The circulation desk provides essential assistance to patrons. Make the circulation desk your first stop in the library.
Loan Periods
Loan periods for the circulating collection are based on the type of material, the anticipated demand for item, and the number of copies available. Please contact the circulation desk if you have questions about the current loan periods and policies. General categories and loan periods are:
Borrowing by UIC Students, Faculty, and Staff
Books in the general collection (most monographs and single-volume treatises on the 9th and 10th floors), Chinese IP Law collection (10th floor), and the Popular Reading, National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS), and Career Success collections (6th floor).
Reserves and Course Reserves. The general Reserve collection consists of materials in high demand by patrons, including hornbooks and some high-use study guides and treatises. Course Reserve consists of materials that have been selected by professors for their courses. Reserve materials circulate for a maximum of four hours to ensure that all patrons have access to them.
Books in the Academic Success collection, Academic Success AV materials, AV equipment and technology, CD-ROMs, DVDs, CDs, videocassettes, and law journals.
The following are some of the materials that do not circulate: reporters, multi-volume sets, looseleafs, unbound periodicals, bound periodicals, Archives collection, Reference collection, government documents, microforms, materials in special locations (Kratovil Reading Room, Faculty Publications, display cases).
Borrowing by Alumni of UIC or The John Marshall Law School
Alumni with a borrowing card may borrow certain items. To request a borrowing card please fill out the request form at https://library.uic.edu/services/alumni/.
Borrowing by members of I-Share libraries
Attorneys
Illinois attorneys who are not alumni of UIC or The John Marshall Law School may use the library but do not have borrowing privileges.
Requesting Materials
UIC patrons may request materials that circulate, excluding Reserves and Course Reserves, to be delivered to them at any I-Share location. If an item is checked out, a UIC patron may place a request and join a queue for the item upon its return. For items with long loan durations and renewals, it may be quicker to request the item from another I-Share library. A queued request does not prevent renewals. I-Share borrowers may request permitted items to be delivered to any I-Share location.
Charges for lost and unreturned items
After 35 days overdue (5 days for items with limited, short-term loan periods), a checked-out item moves to lost status, and the patron will be billed. The default charge is $125 per item, but more expensive items may have higher values assigned and charged. The library may waive the charge if the item is returned. Students are responsible for all library charges.
Exams on Reserve
The library maintains an online database of professors’ exams from prior semesters. The database only includes exams provided to the library by faculty members; it is not a comprehensive collection of all UIC Law exams. Students can access the Exam Database via the library’s home page. Faculty interested in placing exams on reserve should contact law-library@uic.edu.
Course Reserves
Course Reserve consists of books, DVDs, and other materials that have been selected by professors for their courses and may contain required or suggested readings. Items owned by the library and professors’ personal copies of materials can be placed on Course Reserve. Copyrighted items may be placed on Course Reserve for one semester only. Faculty members interested in placing personal copies on Course Reserve should leave the item with the circulation desk, noting the semester, course name, and course number. Faculty interested in placing an item from the library collection on Course Reserve should contact Catrina Williams. Faculty may also post articles and other materials to their Blackboard course pages within the parameters of copyright law.
Microfiche Retrieval
Retrieval requests received by 11 a.m. Monday through Friday will be completed by 2 p.m. that day. Requests received after 11 a.m. may not be completed until the following day. Requests received over the weekend will be fulfilled on Monday. Retrieved microfiche will be held for two days before being refiled. To arrange the retrieval of microfiche, either visit the circulation desk or email law-library@uic.edu.
Printing, Copying, and Scanning
Multifunction Canon printer/copier/scanner devices can be found on the 6th, 8th, 9th, and 10th floors. Copies and printouts cost 15 cents per page, whether printing single- or double-sided, so double-sided is more cost effective. There is no charge for scanning. Please do not leave books on the copiers
UIC Law students, faculty, and staff can log in to any of these units by touching their I-card to the card reader. Students may add value with a credit card online. If you have a problem with your ID card, you must visit the Campus Safety & Security office.
A Wepa print station is located on the 6th floor for use by UIC students, faculty, and staff from units other than UIC Law; alumni; and other visitors.
Library Security
The library has a security system that triggers an alarm should a patron attempt to leave the premises with materials that have not been properly checked out. Occasionally, non-library devices and materials will trigger the alarm. If this should happen, please return to the circulation desk so that a staff member can determine the cause. The security system is a safeguard, and we regret any inconvenience it may cause.
Study Carrels and Group Study Rooms
Study carrels located on the 9th and 10th floors are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Study rooms located on the 6th, 8th, 9th, and 10th floors are for the exclusive use of UIC Law students. UIC Law students can reserve study rooms and 8th floor commons rooms online. Please check the Use policies for the 8th collaboration commons.
