HLS Library Off-Campus Services

Harvard Library locations in Cambridge are closed until further notice. All Library services have moved online.

This guide will help you find and use library resources while you are learning away from the Harvard Law School campus.

The COVID-19 situation is stressful, but the HLS Library is here for you. Use this guide as a single point to find information about library services, and how to get the research and course materials you need.

Full Library Hours

The digital resources of the Law School Library are available to enrolled students through VPN access

We are here to support you with opportunities for remote instruction, course materials, and teaching and learning. If you have questions about any library services while you are off campus, please reach out to research@law.harvard.edu and we will answer promptly.

• Research librarians will continue to be available for consultations via Zoom. To set up an appointment, please email research@law.harvard.edu
• During regular Research Services hours, reference librarians will also offer drop-in research office hours. Go to Ask a Librarian to connect. 

If you need additional materials during this time of online teaching and learning, please email the Harvard Law School Library at research@law.harvard.edu to request a title. If a title is available electronically, the HLSL Acquisitions Unit will make every effort to make it available.  It is helpful if you indicate whether the material is for a class, research paper, journal work, etc..

In many cases, the title you seek may not be available in electronic format. Please indicate if you’d like it to be purchased in print format and made available to you when normal operations resume. Due to ongoing global circumstances and anticipated backlogs, we cannot guarantee timely receipt of your print requests and appreciate your patience.

Check our the Harvard Library's web page for the most up-to-date information about central Harvard Library services.

If you need help related to your course Canvas sites or Zoom access for remote learning, HLS ITS and the Library's Teaching, Learning & Curriculum team are available to help. 

Historical & Special Collections (HSC) is closed, but HSC staff are responding to research queries and holding research consultations remotely. Because staff are not onsite, reproduction services are limited to providing high-resolution copies of already-digitized images. To ask a question or get help, please email specialc@law.harvard.edu

We recognize that access to physical materials is a concern for many students, so we offer the following guidance for checked-out materials:

Checked Out Materials

You may take any regular loan books with you that you need for the spring and summer, and return them by mail when you are done with the books or when we reopen. The library is taking steps to ensure nothing will be due before the end of the semester, and that materials will auto-renew to September.

We will extend due dates, reset renewal periods, and turn off recalls and overdue fines.

Contact us with any questions about your checked-out books, including any “book overdue” emails you may receive: access@law.harvard.edu

Returns

The Library and other Law School buildings are closed. Please do not bring any books to campus to be returned. 

You can return your books via mail. Please mail your books to:

Harvard Law School Library
1545 Massachusetts Avenue
Langdell Hall 262
ATTN: Circulation
Cambridge, MA 02138

Please include a note in the package to let us know these are checked out books you are returning. Books may be returned at book rate or ground shipping.
NOTE: Please return Reserve materials, and do not take them off campus. 

Misinformation can spread quickly during a crisis. These fact-checking resources can help you evaluate the truthfulness of what you hear.