Library Spaces

Law students may access library resources during regular hours. Law students also have 24-hour access to the J. Reuben Clark Building with their campus ID card, and may enter the library after the outer building doors are locked at 10pm. ID card access is governed by the Law School Security Policy.

General Library Schedule

General Information

The Howard W. Hunter Law Library is open to the general public until 6 pm Monday through Saturday (excluding holidays). The Howard W. Hunter Law Library provides restricted access to current law students as described by this policy. The University has installed a swipe card security system that is designed to restrict access to current law students and approved patrons after 6 pm.

General Library Schedule

Access to the Law Library

All students have access to the Howard W. Hunter Law Library during business hours. To help maintain the environment of the library, the law library will restrict access after 6 pm to current law students who have signed the Restricted Access Building policy.

After 6pm, entering and exiting the library is restricted to the second floor. To enter the library, students will need to use their BYU ID on the badge reader located by the east entrance of the library.

For access related issues or questions, please contact Melanie Chao.

Failure to abide by this policy may lead to a loss of restricted access privileges as well as Law School and University disciplinary action.

(Policy Date: June 2024)

As a courtesy, the Law Library provides study carrels to all current law students in good standing. First-year law students are randomly assigned carrels in the “1L area” at the beginning of the school year. Second- and third-, and fourth-year students select their carrels in April for the upcoming school year. Selection order is determined by a randomly generated lottery system. Incoming second-, third-, and fourth-year students who do not select their carrel during the selection period are not guaranteed carrels outside of the “1L area”. Switching carrel locations is not allowed unless approved by Student Services.

All law students are expected to abide by the terms of the “Carrel Occupancy Agreement.” (pdf version), including the Carrel Use Policy. (Repeated failure to abide by the terms of the Agreement may result in the loss of carrel privileges. It may also result in the denial of carrel privileges in future years.) Each carrel has locking cabinets and file drawers and is provided with power and data outlets. Carrel problems should be reported online or to the Circulation Desk.

View the carrel features video:

Carrel Use Policy

Carrel maps

• First Floor (download PDF)
• Third Floor (download PDF)

(Policy Date: June 2024)

General Information

There are 15 study rooms and 2 Zoom booths in the Law Library, designated exclusively for Law School use.

Study Rooms

The study rooms may be reserved for two consecutive hours by groups of two or more law students. Study groups may sign up for only two 2-hour blocks in a given room each day. Groups must occupy a room within 15 minutes of their scheduled reservation, or lose their reservation for that hour. Unoccupied study rooms are available on a first-come-first-served basis to any group of two or more law students. No food or drink is allowed in any study room.

For tips on study groups (including best practices, study group activities, and study group technology tools), see the Student Groups for Law Students research guide.

For personal study, consider instead the Quiet Study Room on the second floor.

Zoom Booths

Zoom booths may be reserved for up to one hour and can be used for interviews, personal phone calls, and appointments. These booths should not be used as personal study rooms. No food or drink is allowed in any of the Zoom booths.

(Policy Date: June 2024)

The Quiet Study Room is located in the northeast corner of the law library’s main floor next to the Innovation Space (Room 271) and the Library Training Classroom (Room 267). This room is only available to law students and must be accessed with the student’s ID card. The room will accommodate up to fifty students and includes soft couches and chairs, carrels, and tables. Law students using the space must refrain from phone calls, group study, and noise that could disturb others using the space.

The Rex E. Lee Room (393 JRCB)  is a great place to take a break, relax, and socialize with friends and family members. The room has both work tables and soft seating, and lots of natural light for chasing away the winter blues. Shelves hold a collection of popular novels and magazines for law students, as well as a selection of games and puzzles. Law students are welcome to bring their children to this room. It has a kids’ corner with some toys and books for young children.

The Library Innovation Space (Room 271) is located on the Law Library’s main floor. The room has moveable furniture including work tables and whiteboards, allowing for numerous configurations that facilitate breakout sessions, group work, and design-thinking exercises. Due to its flexible nature, the space is a popular classroom and hosts everything from large lecture courses, to small seminars, to BYU’s Legal Design Clinic, Law X. Guest lectures and training classes for the Law Library’s Legal Tech Initiative are also frequently hosted in this space.

The Library Instruction Room (Room 267) is located on the main floor of the Law Library near the Innovation Space (Room 271) and the restrooms. Designed to facilitate instruction in electronic legal research skills, this room is equipped with a projection screen and eight monitors along the sides of the room. This room hosts first-year legal research and writing courses, advanced legal research, library research workshops, and other Law School classes.

The Law Library 1st Floor is the basement level of the library. It houses a number of research materials, including the Law and Religion Studies collection, government documents, law reviews and journals, microfiche, state reports, and archived state codes. The 1st Floor is also home to 76 study carrels that can be selected by rising 2L and 3L students during the spring carrel lottery. The 1st Floor is an excellent carrel space for students who prefer a quieter study area.