Zimmerman Law Library
The Zimmerman Law Library is a welcoming space for studying, developing critical research skills, and collaborating with your peers. We’re glad you’re here!
University of Dayton Patrons
Regular Hours
Monday-Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Saturday: 10:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
Reference Desk Hours
Monday-Friday: 9:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m.
Semester Breaks
Monday-Friday: 8:30 a.m.— 4:30 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: CLOSED
Please note:
Keller Hall is locked after 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and remains locked on Saturday and Sunday. During these times it is only open to law school students, faculty, and staff.
Public Patrons
Non-Law School University of Dayton faculty, staff, and students and public patrons who do not have authorized IDs will have to call the Circulation Desk and ask for admittance to the Law Library during operating hours.
In order to contact the Circulation Desk, please call (937) 229-2314 and select option 3 to speak with the Circulation Desk. Public patrons will not be admitted after 5:30 p.m.
Library Catalog
Search across the print and electronic collections of ALL University of Dayton libraries with UDiscover or search the Zimmerman Law Library’s collection of print materials.
Specialized Legal Databases and Study Aids
Explore the specialized legal databases and study aids offered by the Zimmerman Law Library.
Newspapers
Current University of Dayton students, faculty, and staff have free access to the online editions of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Dayton Business Journal, and Chronicle of Higher Education. Refer to this guide for more information about accessing these and other news sources.
Submit a question
UD students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to submit questions about navigating the library and its resources.
Schedule research consultations
Whether you need to chase down challenging sources for Law Review, develop a legal research strategy for a clinical or faculty project, or get started on your own paper, law librarians are available to meet with you.
Reserve a study room
UD School of Law students, faculty, and staff may sign up to reserve study rooms either in-person at the circulation desk or via a request sent to lawstudyrooms@udayton.edu indicating the number of people and type of use (i.e. group study, TA meeting, Zoom interview, etc.).
General Policies
The Zimmerman Law Library is open to law school students, faculty and staff, and is generally open to undergraduate students, lawyers, judges and the public. However, the University has the discretion to limit access where circumstances warrant.
Chairs and tables should not be moved from their present positions.
Show courtesy and respect for the rights of others using the library facilities.
Circulation Policies
The open-stack arrangement of the law library permits easy access to the collection. Most materials are for reference within the Library in order to ensure that the collection is available to all patrons. Books should be reshelved with their spines placed upwards. The library staff will revise the stacks regularly.
Circulating materials may be checked out by all University of Dayton faculty and students with a university ID. Circulating volumes, mainly treatises, may be checked out at the Circulation Desk. Reserve materials circulate within the library for two hours at a time and some may be checked out for overnight use two hours before closing. Reserves in the Reserve Room (room 212P) do not have to be checked out if they are used exclusively in the Reserve Room.
Check-out periods are as follows:
- 42 days for students, graduate students, and visiting scholars
- Duration of the semester for faculty, staff, and Law Review students
Food & Beverage Policy
Food is allowed at the study tables and carrels and in the study rooms as long as it is not disruptive (smelly, noisy or sticky) for other library users. Food may not be left out. All trash must be disposed of promptly in the trash and recycling cans near the library stairs. Any food items left unattended will be thrown out by library staff. Library staff has discretion to determine what foods are appropriate under this policy.
Non-alcoholic beverages in lidded containers are allowed. (Cans are not allowed). Alcoholic beverages are not allowed.
Food and beverages are not allowed in the copy/printer rooms or the computer lab.
Please keep library materials away from crumbs and spills. Notify library staff promptly if there is a spill that needs to be cleaned up.
Staff
Assistant Professor of Law Libraries and Assistant Director, Zimmerman Law Library
Library Access Services Specialist
Collection Development Manager, Adjunct Professor of Law
Professor of Law, Director of the Zimmerman Law Library
Associate Professor of Law Libraries and Reference and Electronic Services Librarian
History
The Zimmerman Law Library opened as the University of Dayton Law Library in 1974 with the re-establishment of the School of Law on the ground floor of the Roesch Library. After acquiring renovated space in Albert Emmanuel Hall in the mid-1970s, the majority of the law school moved out of Roesch Library. The law library remained in the building, connected to Albert Emmanuel by an enclosed but dimly lit and poorly heated “tunnel.”
By the early 1980s, the library had signed on with Mead Data Central (now LexisNexis) and had one Lexis terminal. Much of the initial content of the Mead Data Central database was gleaned from the public domain materials in the collection of the University of Dayton Law Library. A subscription to Westlaw followed in the mid-1980s.
Planning for a new unified law school and law library under one roof proceeded in earnest in the early 1990s. Joseph E. Keller Hall opened in July 1997, and the University of Dayton Law Library was renamed the Dr. J. Milton and Doris Zimmerman Law Library, in recognition of substantial support given to the law school building fund by Doris Zimmerman. The Zimmerman Law Library’s physical collections grew to include an impressive 295,000 volumes, with more than 133,000 volume equivalents of microform.
Today, as technological, political, and economic forces shape both the practice of law and legal education, the Zimmerman Law Library continues to evolve, equipping students to be critical researchers and consumers of legal information. Extensive online resources supplement the library’s physical collections to meet the needs of ever-expanding classes of students enrolled in UD’s hybrid JD, LLM, and MSL degree programs. Zimmerman librarians help patrons navigate these ever-changing resources and are available to consult with students and faculty on their research to recommend strategies and tools to fit their needs.