The Law Library Association of Saint Louis is unique among law libraries. It is both a membership library and a public law library. The library’s mission is to serve several different constituents -- the judiciary who preside over the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit, attorneys in the St. Louis area, the library’s members and public patrons.
There are several other similar law libraries throughout the United States. The Social Law Library in Boston is one of them. https://www.socialaw.com It is older than the Law Library Association by a little over 30 years; it was founded in 1803. Oue library was founded in 1838. The Social Law Library was established by members; however, unlike our library, it remains only a membership library, and members of the public are not admitted.
Another membership law library is the Cleveland Law Library. https://clevelandlawlibrary.org This library was established in 1869 and was originally solely a membership library. Its constituency has been expanded by statute to include the local judiciary, elected officials in Cuyahoga County, and members of the Ohio General Assembly. The Cleveland Library only allows public patrons one day per week.
Because we serves so many constituents, our Law Library provides an array of resources and programming. We offer CLEs for our members and the bar. We provide Westlaw and HeinOnline databases for our members. We offer educational legal programming for the community, as well as the bar. We also provide resources for non-attorney patrons who are trying to navigate the legal system on their own. Unlike the Cleveland or Social Law Library, we are open free to the public during all regular business hours. Come up and explore our available resources.