Other Law Libraries

Other libraries around Victoria provide access to legal information:

The Law Institute of Victoria Library provides a range of quality library services for members of the legal profession. Joining the LIV has many benefits including comprehensive library services and access to quality information and resources. You then get the combined value of LIV library services and the Law Library service, giving you the most comprehensive suite of law library services in Victoria.

The Victorian Legal Aid Public Law Library was opened in 1982 as a clearinghouse for legal materials targeting non-lawyers. It provides a range of facilities for members of the public, including free wireless internet access, public-use computers and photocopiers. Librarians can provide assistance to locate legislation, case law or other legal material from the library’s collection. The library produces ‘The Vibe’ – four Flipboard magazines about criminal law, civil law, family law and legal extra, which curate content from across the web.

The State Library of Victoria is a publicly accessible library with a vast collection of print and electronic legal resources. The SLV subscribes to 27 law databases, 17 of which can be accessed remotely with a library card. eResources freely accessible outside the Library include the law handbook online and AustLII (Australasian Legal Information Institute).  Licence agreements dictate that use of databases must be for private research and study purposes only. No use is allowed for business, commercial or work-related purposes.

The SLV website contains nine research guides which are regularly updated. Titles include Victorian government publications, Court cases in Australia and Aboriginal people and the Law. The most popular research guide – Court Cases in Australia – has been viewed nearly 60,000 times.

The Victorian Government Library Service provides information resources and services for the State Government of Victoria, including an interlibrary loan service. This includes legal resources available to legal practitioners employed by the Victorian public service. Library sites and resources are not open to the public.

University law libraries provide services to university staff and students including: assistance with finding legal information; quick research request; and in-depth research assistance.  

Services provided to the public include: access to computers and the library catalogue; access to computers and the law school network, and photocopying.

Digital resources accessible to university staff and students will usually have license restrictions that prevent those resources being used for work products (ie they are for the purpose of research or study only).

Law firm libraries A number of law firms with offices in Victoria have law libraries that provide services to employees, including access to physical collections and electronic catalogues.