Only members of the Penn Carey Law community are permitted to use the study rooms. Students may use a room without a reservation; however, reservation holders always have priority.

Reservations are held for 15 minutes after the reservation start time. If a room is unclaimed, the reservation is canceled.

Reservations that exceed daily or weekly hour limits are subject to cancellation (a week runs from Monday-Sunday). Failure to comply with these policies may result in the loss of study room privileges.

Technology in Rooms

Rooms T409, T417, T509, T517 are equipped with LCD displays and laptop adapters.

Study Rooms

• Up to 7 days advanced registration
• 4 hours/day limit
• 16 hours/week limit
• Larger study rooms are available for groups of 3 or more

Classroom Study Space

During the exam period, classroom space is available to reserve after 2:30 PM.

• Email request to Robin Harris in the Registrar’s Office
• Request must be made 24-hours in advance
• 4 hours/day limit
• 16 hours/week limit

Books that circulate may be borrowed by Penn community members with a current PennCard. The loan period for law students is one semester.  Penn Carey Law faculty may borrow materials for one year.

To renew books, log into your library account, email the Circulation Department, or call the library at 215.898.7478

Materials such as law reviews, compilations of statutes, case reports, other multi-volume sets, and loose-leaf services circulate only to faculty, journal, and staff offices in the Law School.

When an item is not on the shelf, ask the Circulation staff to check its status. Materials checked out to an office can be retrieved by staff for brief use. For missing items, please ask Circulation staff to mark the item “missing” in our catalog.  Once that is done, you may place an Interlibrary Loan request for the item via our catalog.  

All Penn students may use our book requesting service.  Law students can request contactless pick-up at Biddle; all other students can request pick-up at Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center.

A current PennCard and library account is required to borrow equipment.

Device Charging Cables

Charging cables for a variety of mobile phones, tablets, and laptop computers are available from the Circulation Desk. In-library use only.

Laptop Locks

Universal cable locks are available for checkout. In-library use only. Biddle is not liable for personal computers secured with locks. Patrons are responsible for monitoring their personal property while in the library.

Digital Cameras

• 3-day loan
• Available on a first-come, first-served basis
• View the Equipment Loan Agreement for Students [PDF] 

Items

• Sony DSC-RX100 digital camera with accessories (carrying case, SD card, USB cable, rechargeable battery)

For Law School Staff

A Sony DSC-RX100 point-and-shoot camera is available for staff to borrow for 1 week. Send an email Lori Rowland, Head of Access Services, to submit a reservation request. Please provide 24-hour notice.

View the Equipment Loan Agreement for Staff [PDF] 

Other Equipment-Lending Services

• Penn Carey Law’s Information Technology Services
• Penn Libraries Van Pelt-Dietrich Library

Members of the Law School community can request materials from other libraries through Biddle’s Interlibrary Loan Service. Patrons are notified when requested books are available for pickup.

Patrons should check the holdings at Penn and Drexel Libraries before placing an ILL request. Note: Textbooks may not be requested.

For more information, visit the ILL Guide for Journal Editors and First-Time Users

Academic & Non-Profit Libraries

The library can only accept requests from organizations that use OCLC’s IFM payment system.

Current Penn Carey Law students can request free, electronic document delivery of book chapters and articles from the library’s collections.

Requests are fulfilled within 2 business days. We are unable to honor rush requests.

Student Scan Request Form

Guidelines

• Limit of 2 requests per day and 4 request per week
• Requests by may be made for up to two chapters from a book, or two articles from a journal, or up to 50 pages of other material, subject to copyright limitations.
• This service is for research use only, not course readings or journal source requests.

Items that may not be requested

• Materials for citation checking
• Course materials
• Content from Westlaw, Lexis Advance, Bloomberg, Hein Online or other electronic databases
• Content from microfilm, rare books and checked-out items

The Biddle Law Library is a private facility that serves the faculty, students, and staff of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. The library also serves the public as a Federal Depository Library.

The library strives to provide collections, facilities, and services that support the scholarly mission of the Law School. To foster an environment conducive to study and research, all patrons are expected to abide by the library’s policies and guidelines.

Under the library’s access policy, the library grants temporary and revocable access privileges to certain groups of patrons. It is the responsibility of visitors to provide proof of credentials to meet the access criteria.

Upon each entry, approved visitors must provide valid photo identification, sign the entrance log at the law school guard’s desk, and demonstrate that they meet access criteria.

Disruptive behavior is detrimental to the library’s mission and to staff and patron safety and can result in immediate forfeiture of library privileges. Disruptive behavior includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Failing or refusing to sign in and show proper credentials upon entering the facility
• Abusing, threatening, or intimidating staff or patrons through language or action
• Disturbing patrons or staff by unwanted advances, questioning, or solicitation of legal advice
• Exhibiting signs of drunkenness or other substance abuse

Persons who violate any one of these policies may lose their privileges to use the Biddle Law Library, may be removed by University Police, may be subject to University of Pennsylvania disciplinary actions, and/or be subject to criminal prosecution or other legal action, as appropriate.