Purpose

The main purpose of the law library is to make available to practicing attorneys a collection of materials needed for legal research.

Usage

The law library is located on the third floor of the old courthouse. It is open to the public during the regular business hours of the courthouse.

Collection

The collection consists mainly of primary sources of law, including federal and Pennsylvania statutes, court rules, administrative regulations, and cases; reported cases from the appellate level courts of all fifty states; and a special file of all decisions from the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas since 1980. 

The library also contains sources that explain the law, such as treatises, law reviews, loose-leaf services, and legal encyclopedias. All library materials are continuously updated to reflect changes in the law.

Services

The library staff provides reference assistance to library patrons, but they do not do legal research for people. The library has a coin-operated photocopier and Westlaw, an online legal research service, is available for use in the library.

Note: the online catalog is a list of available material, the publications themselves are not available on this site.