About the Library
The history of the Supreme Court of Ohio Law Library began around 1860. The initial collection of nearly 2,000 volumes of law books was originally a part of the State Library collection, which was transferred to rooms assigned to the Supreme Court of Ohio in the State Capitol building upon the completion of the building in 1860. The first law librarian, who served between 1858 and 1860, was Richard Riordan, a court crier. Riordan's successor was Herman Ruess, also a court crier, who served as librarian from 1860 to Feb. 11, 1866.
The law officially creating the office of law librarian was an act passed by the 57th General Assembly of Ohio on Feb. 16, 1867. The first law librarian elected under this law was James H. Beebe, who served until July 12, 1880. Frank N. Beebe, who became the second law librarian upon the death of his father in July 1880, served until his own death in office in September 1903. The size of the collection was increased from 2,500 volumes to 7,500 volumes in 1880 under the elder Mr. Beebe. At the time of the death of his son, the collection was about 20,000 volumes. In 1901, while the younger Mr. Beebe was in office, the library moved into its new quarters in the State House Annex, and the law librarian's title was changed to marshal and law librarian.
E. Howard Gilkey served as marshal and law librarian from Oct. 3, 1903 to Sept. 1, 1913. A count in 1907 showed that the library had 28,000 volumes. Edward Antrim, who succeeded Mr. Gilkey, served from Sept. 1, 1913 through 1921. A catalog published by Mr. Antrim in 1914 had a collection of 35,000 volumes.
During the 100 years from 1921 to 2022, the Library had steady growth under the directorship of the following: John W. Shaw, 1921-1923; Louis McCallister, 1923-1935; Alfred A. Morrison, 1936-1937; Alfred E. Hetherington, 1938-1941; Raymond M. Jones, 1941-1963, and Wilbur G. Cory, 1963-1971; Paul S. Fu, 1971-2001; Diane Kier (interim) 2001-2003; and Kenneth Kozlowski 2003-2022. Following Kozlowski’s retirement in 2022, Erin N. Waltz became the first woman to be permanent director.
After having remained in the State House Annex for more than 70 years, the Law Library moved to new quarters in the Rhodes State Office Tower on Aug. 25, 1974, and then to the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center in February 2004. Due to the shifting dynamics of legal resources from print to digital, the Library’s collection contains about 105,000 titles and 240,000 items.
The Supreme Court of Ohio Law Library was established and is maintained primarily for the use of the Justices and staff of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Following long-established tradition and with permission of the Court, the library is also open to other government agencies, members of the bar and the public.
The Library staff is dedicated to the organization and maintenance of a high-quality law collection and the provision of the best professional service to all patrons. The Library staff constantly evaluates and analyzes its services to patrons and studies new methods and techniques to improve on existing services.
Chief Justice C. William O'Neill, in his State of the Judiciary address delivered at the 93rd Ohio State Bar Association convention in Dayton on May 10, 1973, pointed out that "when we move into our new library. . . our Court will have charted the course that will soon provide for the bar of this state one of the great law libraries in America." This remains the Library's ultimate goal.
The Law Library has a comprehensive collection of Ohio materials, as well as a collection of United States federal and state session laws, codes and statutes, administrative agency rules and regulations, and practice books. The collection also includes treatises, textbooks, law reviews and bar association journals.
The audiovisual collection includes microfilm and microfiche covering titles such as the back issues of the Code of Federal Regulations, state session laws, presidential papers, American Bar Association publications, and both Ohio and U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs.
The collection of the Supreme Court of Ohio Law Library has been organized into categories: General Reference, Ohio materials, Federal materials, Annotated and National Reports, State materials, Treatises and Textbooks, Legal Periodicals, and International materials. Ohio and federal materials are updated regularly. There are three jurisdictional groups: Ohio, other states, and federal.
The law library has a trained and experienced staff to provide reference service to patrons. Reference staff frequently suggest or search for appropriate reference books, indexes and bibliographies, advise patrons on research methods, and suggest alternatives or related source material. The reference staff also aids patrons by providing an overview of efficient search strategies on Lexis, Westlaw, and other databases offered on our patron terminals, available by appointment.
The Law Library staff cannot offer legal advice.
There is a copy machine in the library for patrons. Patrons are expected to make their own copies. There is a 10 cents per page charge.
Patrons who work for state government agencies are allowed free copies for official use after properly identifying themselves at the circulation desk. This privilege is extended to agencies and personnel who wish to copy only pages or part of a publication. An attempt to copy an entire book or a substantial part of it in order to avoid buying the book itself is not covered by the privilege to receive free copies.
Microfiche or microfilm copies also cost 10 cents per page.
The Law Library is ADA compliant.