The Richmond Public Law Library is a full service public law library located in the Main Library and is open to Metro Richmond residents as well as the legal community. In addition to print materials, the Law Library offers free access to both WestlawNext and Lexis Advance legal research databases, and Gale Legal Forms online. We also host “Know Your Rights” Community Law Classes and legal research classes all free and open to the public. Bimonthly, the Law Librarian leads the online, Oliver W. Hill Book Club discussions.
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August 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. For this special centennial celebrating the rights of women, Meldon Jenkins-Jones and Kathy Coker, two members of the Law Library staff at RPL, discuss the work and life of important Virginia suffragist that lived in Richmond.
The Law Library collection includes a combination of both physical and digital materials. All materials in this collection are reference books that cannot be checked out. For remote access to our digital resources, please read our remote access guidelines.
We are pleased to report that Thomson Reuters has made available Westlaw temporary, restricted access for patron researchers during COVID-19.
You may now choose one of three options as to the type of free Westlaw temporary access you need:
Remote Access Beginning on Jan. 1, 2022, for FREE home access to Westlaw, you will need to self-register for a ONE-TIME PER EMAIL ADDRESS complimentary, remote Westlaw Patron Access. Temp password troubleshooting is managed by TR’s OnePass support team at 800-937-8529. (Thomson Reuters is the parent company of Westlaw.) Patron Self-Registered Complimentary Remote Access: 20 hour / 14 day expiry (for library patrons in need of legal research access). How to self-register for complimentary, remote Westlaw Patron Access:
Research by Request Your second option for using Westlaw from home is to contact the Law Library by telephone, or email to request that the research be performed by the law librarian on your behalf. This service may be limited, depending on demand. For telephone requests, call 804-646-6500. For email requests, email Meldon.Jenkins-Jones@RVA.gov
Using the Computer in the Law Library Finally, if you are able to come to the Law Library to conduct your legal research yourself, We Are Open! Our regular hours for computerized legal research are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 4:45 pm. However, it is best to call ahead to make sure that we are here when you are planning to visit. Our phone number is 804-248-5141. You would then have the option of using Lexis Advance or Westlaw. Time on the computer may be limited, depending on demand.
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. [...] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt Brief History Behind Human Rights Awareness Month The United Nations was established in October 1945 following the end of World...
