The Eckstein Law Library has always been a "library without borders." That is true now more than ever! During library service hours, we are available to help you via telephone, email, and Microsoft Teams, as well as in person.
This Guide focuses on key remote resources available to students while providing some basic information on our in-person services as well. This is an evolving guide; additional information will be added as circumstances change. If you are not a law student, please see our Reference Desk Services page and our Access the Library page.
Students may take advantage of our reference assistance and research consultations in several different ways. Please check our Library Service Hours page for current service hours, holiday hours, and updates.
Reference Service Options:
As always, you may reach a reference librarian by telephone. If you call and get our voice mail, please be sure to leave a message with your name, contact number, and a brief description of your question or legal research issue. We'll return your call as soon as possible during our reference service hours.
Send an email at any time, day or night, and we will respond as soon as possible during our reference service hours.
If you'd like to schedule a specific time to speak with a reference librarian, you may request a research consultation. Research consultations are generally available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with some variability during breaks. We encourage you to request a research consultation as early as possible in your research process. To schedule a research consultation, email the reference desk at least one full business day prior to the desired consultation time, though earlier is even better. More information about the benefits of a research consultation and the scheduling process are available on our Research Consultation page.
Please understand that while we will try to accommodate your desired date and time, certain variables may require flexibility or, in rare cases, prevent us from fulfilling a request. In that instance, you are encouraged to seek assistance at the reference desk in the traditional ways—by stopping by, calling, or emailing for assistance.
Please stop by the reference desk at any point during our service hours for in-person reference assistance.
Librarians are knowledgeable about available resources and skilled at accessing information. The reference librarians can provide legal reference, but cannot provide legal advice.
With regard to facilitating access to legal information, our role is to recommend resources and services and to teach effective legal research techniques. Our role is not to conduct legal research for patrons, to interpret their research or apply the law to their particular facts, or to recommend a particular procedure or course of action.
Patrons must conduct their own research, apply it to their own situation, reach their own conclusion, and determine their own legal course of action.
The chart below distinguishes legal reference from legal advice.
| Legal Reference | Legal Advice |
| Asking only information necessary to help a patron access relevant legal information while remaining neutral about the patron’s legal problem | Providing an opinion or advice on the application of a particular law or legal course of action |
| Directing a patron to a book or legal dictionary to find the meaning of a legal term | Explaining what a legal term means |
| Teaching a patron how to use legal materials and how to conduct effective legal research | Conducting legal research for a patron |
| Showing a patron how to use indexes and how to conduct keyword searches to locate laws and cases and form books | Telling a patron which laws and cases apply, and which forms to use and how to complete them |
| Helping a patron find books on procedures for a particular court (showing them how to find what to do) | Telling a patron which steps to take, what to file, and in what order (telling them what to do) |