Each faculty member is assigned a professional librarian as a liaison. The liaisons can answer reference questions, assist with database usage, help locate materials, train research assistants, provide information about library services, and generally support research activities. Please contact John Cannan for more information. Liaison List
Villanova Law Staff may email reference@law.villanova.edu or contact any of the reference librarians directly.
Faculty should request delivery of books in our collection by completing our Law Library Book Concierge form.
To recommend or request new book titles, subscriptions or other resources for possible acquisition by the Law Library, please contact Steve Elkins or a liaison librarian.
Law faculty have full borrowing privileges at the university’s Falvey Library
Book borrowing at Falvey may be done in person using Falvey's Pickup & Go service. Faculty can also set up a proxy so that their liaison or RA may borrow for them-contact your liaison for more information.
Materials not available at Villanova can be obtained from another library. Inter-Library Loan requests may be made by using this form or emailing Mary Jo Heacock.
A list of all new acquisitions can be found here.
A list of all new books can be found here.
Many faculty subscribe to email alerts in particular subject areas. The liaison librarians can recommend services to best suit faculty interest. Popular options include:
To manage your existing SmartCILP notificaitons follow these instructions:
1. Log in to your MyHein account.
2. Once logged in, click the "Manage SmartCILP Notifications" tab.
3. Checked boxes represent your current notification settings. To add notifications for any topics, subjects, or journals, select the corresponding box. To remove a notification, deselect the blue check mark.
4. Click Create/Update to save your changes.
There are a number of sources that faculty find useful in making decisions about where to submit and publish their scholarship. These sources include:
Most law faculty post drafts of their papers and links to their publications on SSRN (Social Science Research Network) and SelectedWorks.
The liaisons assist faculty in creating and updating their SelectedWorks and SSRN sites. Please contact your liaison for further information.
The Law Library also maintains a repository of Faculty Scholarship and assists with updating publications in faculty's Activity Insight account. Published something recently? Please send it to Michael Pratt for inclusion in the repository and Activity Insight.
Librarians are available for research and consultation Monday - Friday during the school year and summer. Contact your liaison or reference@law.villanova.edu to set up an appointment.
A Library Orientation is offered to all new faculty and staff. To schedule an orientation, please contact John Cannan.
New faculty will receive account access information for Bloomberg Law, Lexis, and Westlaw via email automatically. Staff who would like accounts for these services should contact reference@law.villanova.edu
The library has a pool of RAs to assist faculty with short-term research projects, usually requiring less than 8-10 hours. For these projects, the RA reports directly to the professor and may consult with a professional librarian. To inquire about the availability of a library RA, please contact John Cannan.
Faculty are encouraged to inform John Cannan when a new RA is hired. We provide new RAs with information on library services and review the work habits of a successful RA. A group RA orientation is held at the beginning of the summer and individual sessions are provided in the fall and spring semesters. The orientation includes materials in these readings:
Law faculty have access to a number of databases through individual accounts or links on our law databases page. In addition, we have access to all the databases provided through the Villanova University Falvey Library.
Liaison Librarians can recommend databases that may be useful for a particular research project AND offer individual training on particular databases.
The Villanova Law Library Scanning Service is available to Villanova Law faculty and staff. Scanned items are delivered electronically in PDF format within two business days of the request. Please contact Mary Jo Heacock with your request at heacock@law.villanova.edu. The following limitations apply:
Articles are provided for academic purposes, including private study or research. Permission of the copyright owner may be required for other use. It is the responsibility of the requestor to comply with all applicable copyright laws.
The Villanova Law Library is unable to provide archival quality scans.
The Villanova Law Library reserves the right to decline to scan an item from our collection that is fragile or brittle.
To request photocopies or printouts of statutes, cases, articles or other materials available in the Law Library or the University’s Falvey Library, contact your liaison. Note that for large requests, the liaison will assist administrative support staff in locating the materials and will review options for self-printing or use of the Copy and Distribution Center. Large requests typically take a few days to complete.
We've compiled a guide on Teaching Materials: Required Text, Assignments, Affordable options and more! Our guide offers ideas, information and links to more information on affordable materials to consider using in your courses.
Please see our Textbook and Law School Publisher Information for Faculty guide for our current list of account reps by publisher.
We can assist in seeking permission for copyrighted materials. See the Villanova University copyright policy. Contact Amy Spare for assistance and more information.
Books in our collection may be placed on Reserve for short-term check out, in-library use only. Please let your liaison know your reserve requests for the upcoming semester and confirm availability of any Reserve titles currently mentioned in your syllabus.
Faculty may make old exams available to current Villanova Law students electronically. Contact the Richard Wack to add an exam to the exam database.
Many courses have paper requirements or drafting exercises. Librarians are available to guest lecture to introduce students to class subject-specific resources. Topics we have presented on include:
Law librarians can create web research guides or handouts that recommend and describe resources related to class assignments. For example, see this guide for the Advanced Insurance Law class. Liaisons can provide further information.
| Database Name | Link Creator |
|---|---|
| Westlaw | Look for the "copy page URL to cliplboard" chain link icon at the top of the page or document that you wish to link to. A dialogue box will appear, click on the blue "copy link" button and then paste as usual. |
| Lexis | Look for the "Link to this page" icon |
| HeinOnline |
Use the "permanent link to this page" button and select "Off-Campus/Remote Access" link. |
| PLI Plus (on law databases page) |
Use the "permalink" icon to link to that specific version of a coursebook/treatise or use the "Ever Current" link to link to the hompage for that coursebook to ensure access to the most recent edition each time it is updated. |
| Falvey Library Databses |
Create permalink using Falvey's Proxy Link Builder |
For assistance obtaining permission to use print or electronic materials in course packets or on Blackboard, contact reference@law.villanova.edu. Resources that may be helpful in doing a ‘fair use” analysis include:
The Law Library has access to recorded streams of Pennsylvania Court oral arguments through the Pennsylvania Cable Network. Many oral argument proceedings from the PA Commonwealth, Superior, and Supreme Courts are available for viewing a few days after they occur. Using this resource, faculty can expose their students to actual appellate proceedings as a part of class, or organize a group viewing of a specific argument during a lunch break. If you are interested in exploring how we can set up a stream viewing for you, please contact your library liaison.
Villanova University Charles Widger
School of Law
299 North Spring Mill Road
Villanova, PA 19085
(610) 519-7000
Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law is approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association:
American Bar Association
Office of the Managing Director
321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 988-6738
