MacMillan Law Library Services and Response to COVID-19: Using the Library

General Questions? 
Please complete this Questions for the Law Library? form.

Faculty Research Question?
Please complete our Faculty Request form.

Student Research Question?
Please complete our Student Research Request form. 

MacMillan Library Virtual Research Services (January 4, 2021 - May 14, 2021):

          Monday - Friday: 9am - 5pm

MacMillan Library Building Hours (January 19, 2021 - May 14, 2021)

Monday - Thursday: 8am - 9pm
Friday: 8am - 6:30pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Noon - 6pm

Virtual Reference Desk (Zoom Meeting ID: 930-5184-4067) 
Monday - Thursday: 10am - 2pm
Friday: Closed
Saturday - Sunday: Closed

IT Help Desk:
Monday - Friday: 10am - 5pm 
Saturday - Sunday: Closed

IT Virtual Help Desk
Email us at lawstudent-help@emory.edu and we'll reach out to you via Zoom.

Have something checked out from us?

And need to return it but you haven't been cleared to return to campus or are not in the Atlanta area?  Please see our Returning Library Materials guidelines for additional information.   

If you are graduating in December, please return all library materials by December 1st.  If you are not in the Atlanta area, see Returning Library Materials guidelines for instructions for self-shipping your library items.  

Please contact lawcirc@emory.edu for additional assistance.

Access to MacMillan Law Library is available by appointment only via our Seats reservation system only.  You must complete the Spring 2021 Student Onboarding process to gain access to the law library or any campus facility for any amount of time during the fall term.  Please verify that you have completed all the 2021 Onboarding Steps before making a reservation.  

Per CDC and University guidelines, the law library can safely accommodate up to 77 students at any given time in phase one of our reopening.  Per Emory University policy, visitors are not allowed on campus at this time; this decision will be revisited once COVID-19 conditions improve in Atlanta.  Access to the law library is limited to law students at this time and all outside visitors are prohibited from entering the library.  As such, both the law school and law library are available via card access only, and the library requires an additional reservation to gain entry. 

Individual Study Spaces in the Law Library

Individual study spaces can be reserved for up to two hours per student per day and can be reserved up to four days in advance.  Reservations are available on the law library's website at Reserve A Seat or at https://emorylibraries.libcal.com/reserve/lawlibrary.

• All individual study spaces must be reserved before you enter the law library
  • To help you choose a seat, each space includes a photo of the space in the Seats reservation system.
  • Spaces are for individual study space only, there is no collaboration space available in the library due to social distancing requirements.
• Before entering the library, you must have:
  • A Mask,
  • Your Emory ID, and 
  • A Seat Reservation.

Food and Drink Policy

Masks must be worn at all times while using the law library.  Therefore, food is not permitted in the law library and drinks in spill-proof cups with straws or similar are permitted.

Printing and scanning is available in the law library.  However, due to our maximum capacity guidelines, you must have a seat reservation before entering the law library for any reason, including printing and scanning.

Finding Print Materials at Emory Libraries During COVID-19:

Searching demo (11:53) of searching and requesting print materials (Journal EIC Meeting, Sept. 2, 2020)

Step 1: Use Emory Library's catalog, discoverE, to find / search for books.

Step 2: Note the location of the print book - not all books are at MacMillan Law Library

• If the book is located at MacMillan Law Library,
  • Submit a request for the book at MLL Questions for the Law Library.  Requests MUST include:
    • The book's call number, and
    • A link to the book's record in DiscoverE.
  • You will receive an automatic email when the book is ready for you to pick up.  Remember, if you plan to stay in the library to scan portions of the book, you must have a reservation via our Seats reservation system.  Remember, when making a reservations, 
    • You must complete the Spring 2021 Onboarding process to gain access to the law library or any campus facility for any amount of time during the fall term. 
    • Please verify that you have completed all the Spring 2021 Onboarding Steps before making a reservation.  If you have not been cleared to come to campus, DO NOT request a book for pick-up.  The library CANNOT scan pages for you. 
• If the book is located at a different Emory Library... 
  • ... and you want to pick it up from the other library yourself (to avoid a significant delay given transit times during COVID-19), then:
    • Review that library's policy for book requests here:
      • Woodruff (Main) Library, 
      • Woodruff Health Sciences Library
      • Pitts Theology Library
      • Oxford Library 
  • ... and you want to request a scan of a page range or chapter (aka "Document Delivery") then:
    1. Determine which pages/chapter you need, 
    2. Sign in to DiscoverE (top right corner)
    3. Click the "Request Article or Chapter" tab in DiscoverE (across the top of the catalog record) THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
    4. Log in to ILLIAD when prompted, 
    5. Update the request with the pages / chapters you would like to request, 
    6. Click "Submit Request."
    7. When ready, the scan will appear in your ILLIAD account.  

Step 3: If Emory University does not own the book, then see Finding Materials at Other Libraries below.

Finding and Requesting Print Materials at Other Non-Emory Libraries During COVID-19

If Emory does not own the book you are looking for,

...and you want the entire book, then you will need to request it from another library via InterLibrary Loan (ILL).  To request a book via ILL: 

1. Find the book you want in Worldcat and click "View Description" to locate the information necessary to request the book via ILL.
2. Log into ILLIAD, and select click "Loan of Book, etc." and submit your request.
3. When the book arrives, you will receive an automated email letting you know it is here and ready for pickup.
   • If you are not in the area or have not been cleared to come to campus, DO NOT request a book for pick-up. 
   • The library CANNOT scan pages for you or mail books to you. 
   • YOU are the only one who can check out ILL books you've requested.  ILLs are non-transferrable.
   • If you want a friend to pick up the book, the friend needs to request the book. 

...and you are fine with a scan of pages or a chapter, 

1. Find the book you want in Worldcat and click "View Description" to locate the information necessary to request the book via ILL.
2. Log into ILLIAD, and select click "Copy of Book Chapter" and submit your request.
3. The owning library will then scan the requested chapter. 
4. When ready, the scan will appear in your ILLIAD account.

Finding Journal Articles using DiscoverE's "eJournals" Tool

Emory University Libraries subscribe to thousands of journals electronically.  It is common to have full text access to one journal via multiple database subscriptions.  It is also common for each of those subscriptions to include different date ranges of each journal or include embargos on more recent articles.  To make it easier to find all subscriptions to a particular journal, use our eJournals tool to find your article.  

Step 1: Open Emory Library's catalog, DiscoverE, and select "eJournals A-Z" (above the search bar).

Step 2: Search for your journal title and click the title you want - this will open a new window

Step 3: In the new window, review the list of databases that include access to this journal.  Notice that some databases have different coverages while other include embargos on the most recent issues.  Select the database that includes access to the date range of your journal article.

Step 4: Once in the appropriate database, either Browse the database for your volume/issue or search using the article's title.

If Emory does not have full text access to the journal / article you are trying to find, then you will need to request it from another library via InterLibrary Loan (ILL).  To request an article via ILL: 

1. Find the journal you want in Worldcat and click "View Description" to locate the information necessary to request the book via ILL.
2. Log into ILLIAD, and select "Copy of Article" and submit your request.
3. When the scan of the article is ready, it will appear in your ILLIAD account.