In 1833, Judge John Reed approached the Trustees of Dickinson College with the idea of operating a law school out of his home. The Law School, commonly referred to as Judge Reed’s Law School, opened on April 1, 1834, but suspended operations sometime after Judge Reed’s death. A letter from Judge Reed indicates that he had “an extensive law library” planned for his Law School. However, it is unclear what happened to the Law Library’s collection after his death.
Law Library at Emory Hall (1897)
In 1890, the Law School was incorporated, and reopened as The Dickinson School of Law.[1] The Law School’s home was Emory Hall, which was leased from Dickinson College. William Trickett, the Dean of the Law School, provided books from his own private collection for the Law Library. In 1892, Issa Tanimura, a student from Japan, organized a carnival to benefit the Law Library. The proceeds were used to expand the Library’s collection by over 800 volumes.
Law Library in Trickett Hall (1959)
In 1918, the Law School moved to its present location at the corner of South and College Streets, in Carlisle. The new building was dedicated, and named Trickett Hall, in Dean Trickett’s honor. The Law Library occupied a 54 by 60-foot room on the second floor of Trickett Hall and was described in the 1918 Law School catalog as containing around 6,000 volumes. On June 8, 1940, the Board of Trustees of the Law School authorized the employment of a full-time librarian. William Dodd, who also served as a professor, was the first one appointed to this position.
Library Research Center (1964)
On November 27, 1962, ground was broken for the addition of a Library/Research Center to Trickett Hall. The new Library/Research Center was dedicated on May 2, 1964, and in a ceremony on October 14, 1972, was named the Sheely-Lee Library, after Judge W. Clarence Sheely and Dr. Harry Lee, who had served as Presidents of the Law School, from 1940 to 1959 and 1959 to 1962, respectively.
In 1977, ground was broken for the construction of a new Library/Advocacy Center. This construction increased stack space and student study space, allowing the Law Library to hold up to 120,000 volumes. The Law Library at the time had over 100,000 volumes in its collection. The expansion allowed the Law Library to become a United States Government Documents Depository. The expansion also allowed for the addition of two audiovisual rooms and a Lexis terminal for legal research. The addition of a Center for Advanced Legal Education to the Law School in 1985 added additional space to the Law Library.
In 1997, The Dickinson School of Law began its merger with the Pennsylvania State University. This merger was completed in 2000. On January 23, 2008, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for what would be an extensive makeover of the Law School’s Carlisle location.[2] During construction, the Law School and Library were moved to a temporary location in Carlisle. The additions that had been made to Trickett Hall over the years were demolished and replaced with a new building, named Lewis Katz Hall, in honor of Lewis Katz, a philanthropist, businessman and alum, who donated $15 million dollars to the Law School. The exterior of Trickett Hall was restored and the interior received a complete makeover.
The Law Library was moved into Trickett Hall and renamed the H. Laddie Montague, Jr. Law Library in honor of H. Laddie Montague, Jr., Class of 1963, who donated $4 million dollars to the Law School. Faculty and staff moved into the new space on December 21, 2009, and students resumed classes there on January 11, 2010. The Library occupies space on all three levels of Trickett Hall, with a variety of options for students to study either individually or in groups. Individuals seeking quiet study may choose to do so at reading tables on the second floor, carrels on the bottom level, or at a variety of soft seating locations throughout the Library. Students who wish to study in groups may reserve time in one of the Library’s group study rooms, which are equipped with Mersive Solstice pods for wireless display connectivity and collaboration. The Law Library is particularly excited about the recent launch of its digital repository, Dickinson Law IDEAS.
[1] While many believe that the Law School was part of Dickinson College, the two were in fact separate institutions.
[2] Meanwhile, ground had broken on January 18, 2007 for the construction of a law school building at University Park. While that building was under construction, students attended classes elsewhere on the University Park campus. Classes resumed in the new building on January 9, 2009. This building, which houses Penn State Law, is named after Lewis Katz, and the Law Library is named after H. Laddie Montague, Jr.