A home away from home for many students, the Schaefer Law Library is a quiet and comfortable place to study and explore the law. Named for John F. Schaefer, '69, a trustee emeritus, generous donor, and adjunct professor at the Law College for more than 30 years, the law library has all the print and online reference materials you need. Our librarians are happy to guide you through your toughest research questions, and the circulation desk is staffed by students who can connect you with the library's wide range of resources.
John F. Schaefer is one of the country’s best-known and most highly respected lawyers in the field of matrimonial law, which he has practiced for more than 40 years. A trustee emeritus at MSU Law, Schaefer taught Family Law for more than 30 years as an adjunct professor at the Law College.
Schaefer is involved in numerous professional, civic, and philanthropic organizations. He has served as president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation, president of the Oakland County Bar Association, and chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Family Law Section. He has been an arbitrator for the Michigan State Bar Attorney Grievance Commission, a member of the Committee on Character and Fitness, and a member of the board of trustees of William Beaumont Hospital and the Detroit Police Athletic League. As an instructor at the Michigan Judicial Institute, Schaefer educated hundreds of Michigan circuit court judges in substantive matrimonial law.
In addition to earning his Juris Doctor degree at Detroit College of Law in 1969, Schaefer also received a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1965 and an honorary doctor of law degree from MSU-DCL.
The Reserve Collection is housed behind the Circulation Desk. Upon request, student assistants will retrieve items for your use. These items may be located by using the Library catalog. The reserve collection is primarily made up of high use items such as textbooks, supplements, hornbooks, and review aids.
Effective Fall 2021, law students will be able to check out reserve materials that circulate overnight for 72 hours. Due to heavy usage and demand, reserve materials are subject to borrowing restrictions and fines. They are non-renewable and the fine is $1.00 per hour past the due date and time including overnight hours.
Please see the Circulation Desk for more details on borrowing privileges. Overdue fines will now be collected at the Main Library in person or by phone. For more information please see https://lib.msu.edu/circ/policies-and-procedures/.
The Schaefer Law Library maintains an institutional repository of scholarship generated by current faculty. Articles and similar scholarly works are available here in full-text for download. Additional collections are continually added, so check back regularly!
The Law Library strives to own all material necessary to pursue legal scholarship and education. From time to time, however, we must borrow items from other libraries to meet the needs of our patrons, hence the expression "interlibrary loans" or ILLs. Click here for more information.
A Copy Room is located on the first level of the Library. You can purchase $5 copy cards by using the card dispenser, which is conveniently located in the Copy Room. Value may also be added to copy cards by using the card dispenser, which accepts $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills. Please note that the Library’s copiers do not accept bills or coins and that the cards dispensed do not work in copiers within the MSU Main Library system. Please report any copier problems to the Circulation Desk.
Printing is available for law students, faculty, and staff. For student access to printing information, read about the law college’s distributed printing system.
The Schaefer Law Library staffs a reference desk with professional librarians who are here to assist patrons with research. If you have any questions, visit our contact page for assistance.
Seating on Level 2 of the Law Library is available for general study; however, seating on Level 1 of the Library is reserved for use by law students and faculty, and for members of the public, including the MSU community, who are actively using the library materials.
Welcome to the John F. Schaefer Law Library. We are open to the public and are here to provide referrals to Michigan Legal Help Centers, recommend credible internet sources, and help you find books and materials in our collection.
Public Access
Practicing Law
Recommending Lawyers
Getting Help With Library Materials — Email first (if you can)
For additional information about library policies, please see the MSU Libraries General Rules and Regulations.
Each semester the Law Library employs many part-time student workers. Work study students are given preference in hiring decisions. Law students are also given preference, but the Library will consider MSU work study students if necessary to fill the positions. Application forms may be downloaded here (PDF) or obtained at the Law Library Circulation Desk, where completed applications may be dropped off. A brief job description is provided below; please note that Work Study is preferred.
Hours: Variable, as scheduled by the Circulation Manager, at any time the Law Library is open; cannot exceed an average of 16 hours per week for law students and 20 hours per week for non-law students.
Duties: Workers may be assigned any or all of the following duties: staffing the circulation desk, maintaining copiers, monitoring group study rooms, reshelving books, scanning or copying documents, gathering statistics, shelf reading and various other duties as needed.