Welcome to our beautiful Law Libraries located on the Lansing campus in Michigan, and the Tampa Bay campus in Florida. The libraries are open to all WMU-Cooley students, faculty and staff; alumni, members of the bar, WMU undergraduate, graduate students and faculty; and students from other law schools with a need to conduct legal research.
It is our pleasure to be able to assist you in your legal research needs. With libraries in multiple locations, we offer students, faculty, members of the bar, and students from other law schools access to a wealth of information in which to conduct research. A combined collection of over 700,000 volumes and many miles of shelving serve as a treasure trove for the legal researcher.
Please visit our Services to WMU-Cooley Law School Alumni page here.
Please visit our Services to Members of the Bar page here.
Please visit our Services to WMU Undergraduate and Graduate Students page here.
Please visit our Services to Other Law School Students page here.
Please visit our General Library Policies page here.
Please visit our Circulation and Overdue Policies page here.
Access
All non WMU-Cooley visitors must register with Access Control upon entering a WMU-Cooley building. Visitors must show proper identification. Proper identification includes: a law school ID, WMU ID, bar card, alumni card, or driver’s license.
Borrowing Privileges
The WMU-Cooley Law Libraries circulate materials to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of any state bar association. Members of the Western Michigan University communities also have certain borrowing rights. All other patrons with legal research needs may use the collection in-house. Some materials do not circulate and all items are subject to recall. Please visit our Circulation and Overdue Policies page here for more information regarding our circulation policies.
Electronic Resources
The library subscribes to a variety of electronic resources. For non WMU-Cooley patrons, most sources are IP based and available only from a WMU-Cooley networked PC. To view a list and description of the electronic resources available to you, please visit our Electronic Resources (https://www.cooley.edu/students/library/databases) page.
Facilities
Patrons using the WMU-Cooley Libraries have access to our entire print and microform collection. CoolCat, (http://library.cooley.edu/) the online catalog, is available 24 hours a day. Non-Cooley patrons may access available electronic resources at any of our available OPAC terminals.
Library Policies
All patrons are subject to our library polices. Please visit our General Library Policies page here for further information.
Online Catalog
CoolCat is the libraries' online catalog where you are able to search for books, journals, recordings, videos, websites and newspapers. CoolCat allows you to conduct keyword, title, author, subject, call number, and advanced searches. OPAC computer terminals are located throughout the libraries. If you need assistance with the catalog, do not hesitate to request assistance from a reference librarian. Search CoolCat (http://library.cooley.edu/) now.
Reference Services
The libraries have reference librarians who help you with your research questions. Our e-mail reference service, Ask A Librarian, is available 24 hours a day. We have a toll free reference number: 1-866-REF-DESK (1-866-733-3375) where you may reach us from anywhere in the United States.
Research Guides
To further assist you in your research, the WMU-Cooley Librarians have created and continuously maintain a number of research guides on a variety of legal topics. The annotated research guides assist researchers in identifying useful print, electronic and internet sources pertinent to their legal issue. List of Research Guides (https://www.cooley.edu/library/research-guides).