About FIU Law Library
Welcome from the Dean
Welcome to the Florida International University College of Law Library. Our library serves as the intellectual hub of the FIU College of Law, providing comprehensive resources and services that support the academic and scholarly pursuits of our students, faculty, and university community.
As Assistant Dean for Legal Information Services and Director, I am proud of our dedicated team of law librarian faculty and staff who develop and provide instructional, reference, and research services and maintain a broad collection comprised of traditional legal materials with modern digital resources. Their expertise and commitment to service excellence create an environment where legal minds can flourish.
Whether you are a first-year law student beginning your legal education journey, a faculty member engaged in groundbreaking scholarship, or a legal practitioner seeking specialized information, our library is equipped to meet your needs. We invite you to explore our resources, engage with our services, and experience the supportive learning environment that distinguishes FIU Law Library.
Lisa Davis
Dean of FIU Law Library
FIU College of Law
Our Mission and Vision
The FIU Law Library supports the information needs of FIU Law students, faculty and staff. We are committed to supporting excellence in legal education, scholarship, and service by providing resources, instruction, and services to our diverse community. We strive to:
- Develop and maintain comprehensive collections of legal and interdisciplinary materials.
- Provide innovative services that facilitate legal research and scholarship.
- Offer expert instruction in legal research methodologies and information literacy.
- Create an inclusive, accessible, and technologically advanced environment for learning.
- Preserve legal information for future generations of scholars and practitioners.
- Serve as a vital legal information resource for the South Florida community.
Collection Development
The FIU Law Library collection is carefully curated to support the curriculum and evolving needs of the College of Law, curated to support the educational pursuits and research activities of our faculty and students. Our collection development policy is guided by the following principles:
Focus Areas
Our collection emphasizes strengths in international and comparative law, immigration law, environmental law, and Latin American legal systems, reflecting South Florida's unique position as a gateway to the Americas and the Caribbean.
Format Diversity
We maintain a balanced approach to collection formats, providing access to traditional print materials alongside comprehensive electronic resources. This hybrid approach ensures our users have access to legal information in the most appropriate format for their research needs.
Selection Criteria
Materials are selected based on their relevance to the curriculum, faculty research needs, scholarly value, currency, and accessibility. We regularly review and evaluate our collection to ensure it remains current and responsive to emerging areas of legal study.
Collaborative Approach
We collaborate with faculty, students, and other legal information professionals to identify resources that enhance our collection. Through partnerships with other libraries and legal institutions, we maximize access to specialized resources that might otherwise be unavailable to our users.
Library History
The FIU Law Library opened its doors in temporary facilities on the university campus. The founding librarians began building the core collection of legal materials essential for the inaugural class of law students.
The library moved into its permanent home in the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall. The new facility featured state-of-the-art technology, expanded study spaces, and room for growth of the physical collection.
The library reached a milestone of 300,000 volumes and volume equivalents. Special collections in Caribbean and Latin American law were established, reflecting the unique position of FIU in South Florida.
Major renovation of the library's physical space moved the entrance from the second floor to the first floor, and creation of collaborative learning areas and computer lab.
FIU Law’s institutional repository, eCollections@FIU Law Library launched with open-access to the scholarship of FIU Law faculty, Caribbean primary legal authority, and digitized special collections, brining FIU Law Library’s collections to the world stage. Our repository transformed to eCollections in 2018.
Additional study rooms with collaborative digital technologies installed, enhancing study experience and providing resources for remote competition participation and interviewing.
In an effort to lower the cost of legal education and provide students access to enhanced learning tools, digital collections were expanded to include comprehensive access to study aids, assessments, and course materials.
In response to the global pandemic, the library rapidly transformed its services to provide robust virtual research support and expanded digital resources, demonstrating resilience and innovation in challenging times.
Interactive technologies transformed the newspaper reading room and computer lab into interactive and active learning classrooms, cementing FIU Law Library’s position as the learning and information hub of FIU Law.
FIU Law Library modernized our online catalog, guides, and website to provide users an optimal experience designed for the digital age.