Use the tabs above to understand how the Law Bod's collection is arranged. There is an Enquiry Desk on Level 2, just as you enter the main Reading Room: please do come and have a word if you are having any difficulty in using the library..
The Law Library's collection is fully catalogued on SOLO, Oxford University's online resource discovery tool.
Law - England - History
Law - Great Britian - History
Law, Medieval
Justice, Administration of -- Great Britain -- History
Roman law reception England
Law - Great Britain - Roman influences
For those wishing to learn more about using searches, we recommend the following:
Level 2, the entrance at which you enter the Law Library, is where you will find the current book collection for most aspects of this topic.
The relevant shelf marks on this floor begin:
Legal Hist
Cw Gen
K-KZ
General
Jurisp
Note if there is (sec coll) at the end of the shelf mark this indicates a superseded edition. It also means that, should you wish to read this edition, you need to go to the ground floor, where the majority of our 'secondary collection' is kept on open shelf.
If you have any difficulty finding things, please ask at the Enquiry Desk on Level 2.
Please use the other tabs in this box for more detailed guidance. The links in the right hand column may have a topic of interest to you.
On the ground floor of the Bodleian Law Library is the secondary collection of superseded editions. These are discoverable by ordinary SOLO searches - but have (sec coll) added to their shelf marks.
The Law Library has some pre 19th century edition on site but these are kept in a rare book room and are not immediately accessible to readers. These books will have (Locked) or (Staff SR) after their shelf marks. Most will be available via one or more of the following platforms of digitised early works and we would ask readers to try these first.We are of course very happy to fetch the physical copies when there is genuine need.
Holders of an Oxford SSO have access to the following:
Freely available to all with access to the internet
On Level 2, the level at which you enter the Law Library, an area of the open shelf collection has books with shelf marks beginning General.
This is where you will find comparative studies, and works surveying the response to legal problems in two or more jurisdictions.
Please ask at the Enquiry Desk on Level 2 if you are having difficulty finding your way round our collection.
Some top level subject searches to help you find overviews & introductions in SOLO
Law Europe History
Law, Medieval
Law -- Europe -- Roman influences -- History
Roman law -- reception -- Europe
Justice, Administration of -- Europe -- History
Online resources available to anyone with access to the internet
The principal collection of legal philosophy/jurisprudence books are also shelved on Level 2, the level at which you enter the Law Library. An area of the open shelf collection has books with shelf marks beginning Jurisp. Within this section the books are arranged by the last name of author or editor.
As the collection is being converted to the Moys classification scheme, you may find legal philosophy works with shelf marks beginning KA. These are also on Level 2 - but occupy a different set of bookcases.
Some subject searches to try in SOLO
Law -- Philosophy -- History
Law -- Philosophy -- Early works to 1800
Jurisprudence -- History
Law - interpretation and construction - History
Law - moral and ethical aspects - History
Also names of individual jurists/philosophers
and/or schools of thought eg Natural law
As all parts of the Bodleian use SOLO you may find the results of your searches point you to libraries beyond the Law Bod.
And don't be put off if a book is described as being in Closed Stack, please make use of the online request option on SOLO
Other pages in the guide have suggestions for study of specific topics. The links to these pages are below, with the topics arranged alphabetically
If the Bodleian Libraries don't have the print or ebook you are looking for, you can make a recommendation by completing the form below (Oxford Single-Sign On required).
If the Bodleian Libraries don't have the book you are looking for, we may be able to source it through Oxford's inter-library loan service.
There are a number of reasons why the Bodleian Libraries may be unable to provide electronic access to a resource. The ebooks guide explains some of these reasons: