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Guide to Columbia Law Library Services and Policies

Reference Desk Hours

Librarians are available during the following hours* for in person, chat, and email reference:

Monday-Friday 10am-6pm

Librarians are available during the following weekend hours* for chat and email reference:

Saturday and Sunday 12pm-6pm

*Hours are subject to change and national and university holidays. 

Contacting the Reference Desk

Reference and research assistant from a reference librarian is available via email at referencedesk@law.columbia.edu, via Chat, and in person in WJW 101 during the stated hours above. No prior appointment is needed to consult with a reference librarian, although you are welcome to send an email to the Reference Desk or to one of the reference librarians if you'd like to set up an appointment for a longer research consultation. 

What Kind of Help We Can Provide

The reference librarians can help with a variety of tasks, including:

  • research planning
  • preemption checking
  • source gathering
  • web searching
  • navigating online sources and electronic databases, including Bloomberg Law, Lexis, and Westlaw
  • requesting items through Interlibrary Loan