London Legal Letter.
495
American law library. As to American law library, the student and book-lover would not tarry long at the homes of our, Eng the condition of affairs is still more embar no rassing. State reports In somewhatever, of the libraries and in others there are ca j lish universities. The libraries of Lin coln's Inn and of Inner and Middle Temples price and shelf-room seem to determine what each contain complete sets of the United shall be kept up. In one of the largest and States reports and of the reports of a few States, while all together do not contain all most important of the libraries the only re ports of all the Western States are those the reports of even the principal States. If the authorities of the various governing bod of Kansas! Where there is any desire to make com ies could only meet and consider the matter plete collections the lack of shelf-room seems they would find that by assigning to each of to be considered an insuperable objection. It the libraries the duty of keeping up a certain is undoubtedly true that the unrestricted and section of the foreign law, the whole field senseless output of American law reports is would be easily and inexpensively covered. the great evil with which all librarians have If, for example, now that the Bar library to contend, and it will doubtless continue so has been given a start by Mr. Bretherton, long as the reprehensible practice in the the library committees would combine to United States of judges reserving judgment assist that particular library to keep up the in every case and writing elaborate opinions statutory law of America, the other libraries upon long-settled and rudimentary proposi might rid their shelves of all American stat tions of law is maintained, but it should not ute books. In the same way there could be be accepted as something which cannot be no object in the Middle Temple giving any dealt with. It is not true, however, as to shelf room whatever to any United States or colonial reports and it is still less true of State reports, if by agreement the American American statutory and text-book law. reports should be taken in at the Inner Tem The other objection urged against the com ple library, in which there would be suffi pletion of the sets of foreign law books is cient shelf room, if the American and colonial that they are not often called for and that reports and statutes and digests and text they are useful only to a very limited class books to be found in other libraries were of professional men — those chiefly who given up. The American text-books might make a specialty of practice in the law of be assigned to one particular library and countries other than England. colonial statutes and reports to another. cessible The real to English reason why lawyers the law are libraries so deficient ac- Thus by a community of interest the gen eral convenience of all the members of the is not far to seek. It may be found in the bar might be profitably served. fact that there are too many law libraries in The other and perhaps the more important London and no apparent sense of community reason why our law libraries are such things of interest in those who manage them. The of shreds and patches is because, with possiInns of Court bear practically the same rela ibly one or two exceptions, there is not a tion to the Bar that colleges bear to a uni bibliologist or a true lover of books among versity. If there was no university library the governing bodies of the libraries. In at Oxford or Cambridge and each college the United States most of the private bar should act independently, and with jealousy libraries are maintained by voluntary sub of every other, in attempting to build up its scriptions and have but slight, if any, endow
