Welcome to the Mizzou Law Library! We are excited to meet the legal research needs of the University of Missouri and the surrounding community. Our librarians can help you access the legal research tools we offer to the public.
Suggest specific titles and/or areas of the collection that might be useful to consult on a particular question.
Show you how a particular title or set of books is organized and indexed.
Help verify a citation or that we own a particular title or assist you in finding it at another library.
Show you how to access and use the law library’s catalog and public databases.
Photocopy or email material if you have a specific citation.
Refer you to legal assistance organizations in the area.
What the reference librarian CANNOT do for patrons:
Interpret or explain the meaning of any document, legal or otherwise.
Give legal advice.
Recommend a particular lawyer.
Read any part of a statute, case, definition, etc. over the phone or to patrons in the library.
“Update” cases, statutes, etc. or let you know if they are still good law or have been overruled.
Help you fill in a form.
Do your legal research for you.
Why does the law library have these rules?
As law librarians, we are here to assist you in using and accessing the materials in the law library. Only your lawyer can interpret documents or give you legal advice. For the law librarians to do so would be unauthorized practice of law, which is illegal.
Need to speak to a librarian?
The Mizzou Law Library has an extensive collection of legal research databases and print materials for study and research in all areas of the law. We have a team of law librarians — several with law degrees — IT professionals and staff to assist you in accessing and using the library’s collection.
