Skip to Main Content

1L Resources, Tips and Tools: What Can I Borrow at the Circulation Desk?

This guide describes print and digital resources to help 1Ls succeed at Brooklyn Law School.

BLS Library's Circulation Desk

BLS Library's first-floor circulation desk, 250 Joralemon Street

This guide box states the hours when BLS Library staffs its circulation desk.

Borrowing Laptops and Other Equipment

Students can borrow these materials at BLS Library's first-floor circulation desk for four hours:

  • Laptops (library laptops do not include Exam4 software)
  • USB Drives
  • USB-C Chargers
  • Headphones
  • Locks for Computers
  • Dry Erase Markers
  • Board Games

Borrowing Reserve & Course Reserve Material

Behind BLS Library's first-floor circulation desk is 1) material on Reserve (including one copy of all required casebooks and many study aids) and 2) material BLS faculty place on Course Reserve.  BLS Library provides current editions of required coursebooks and numerous study aids for Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Research/Writing/Citation, Property, Torts and many other legal subjects. 

Tip: Black's Law Dictionary (12th ed. 2024) is available on the public access table (first floor), on a table in the Nash Reading Room (3rd floor) and in Westlaw.

Tip: There are pull-down menus of sources listed by subject under guide tabs: Legal Research, Writing & Citation and 1L Course Casebooks & Study Aids.  (Some of these sources are available online.)

Reserve and Course Reserve sources circulate for two hours (in-library use).  A student can renew a source on Reserve or Course Reserve if no one else has requested the source.  In BLS Library's SARA catalog, students can search for Reserve material by keyword(s), author or title.

Tip: Many BLS faculty also post course material in the learning management system: Canvas.  The BLS website states: "sign in to Canvas with your BLS username using ALL LOWER CASE, not your email address."  Also enter your BLS password. 

Borrowing Books

BLS students and staff can borrow a circulating (non-Reserve) source like the book above for an entire semester, unless another patron recalls the source.  The following materials do not circulate to students:

  • Looseleaf services 
  • Periodicals (bound or unbound)
  • Federal, regional and state primary sources (such as case reporters, statutes and administrative material)
  • Finding tools (such as indexes, case digests, dictionaries and encyclopedias)
  • Form books
  • Note: Reference sources circulate for 2 hours (in-library use).

If no other borrower has requested a circulating source, a student can renew the source online or in person at the circulation desk.  To renew a source online, access SARA catalog and log in to your library account by entering your BLS username (firstname.lastname) and password.

Anyone with borrowing privileges may request the recall of material currently on loan.  The patron in possession of the recalled item will receive an email notifying them that the item has been recalled and that the item needs to be returned in two weeks.  As soon as the item is returned, the requesting patron will be notified of the item's availability. 

DVDs and audio/video cassettes that are not on Course Reserve circulate for 48 hours.  These sources are listed in SARA catalog and are located on BLS Library's third floor, near the computer lab.  Also, the Robert M. Pitler DVD Collection of popular, non-legal DVDs is on the GM (ground floor mezzanine) level, outside of room 113M.  These DVDs circulate for one week.

For information about  BLS Library's policies pertaining to visitors and pass-holders, please see: Access Policies.

Finding Books, Journals, DVDS, Databases & More

Students can search BLS Library's SARA catalog by keyword(s), author, title or subject. The detailed record for each item allows you to:

  • Confirm that the item is available.

  • Learn when the title is due back if it has already been checked out by someone else.

  • Identify the call number and location of a print item.

From SARA catalog's main menu, you can link to an A-Z list of databases, can access Course Reserves and can download the BLS proxy server instructions (to access many e-resources off campus).

Tip: BLS Library provides many ebooks, such as the introduction below.  In the SARA catalog record, click the ACCESS ONLINE VERSION link.  Ebook provider EBC requires patrons to click: "create account."  If you have questions about accessing ebooks in SARA catalog, please contact a reference librarian.  Click here to find out how to contact us.