LIBRARY.
The department is provided with an excellent law library, to which considerable
additions have recently been made, containing several thousand
volumes of well-selected reports and text-books, English and American. Its
location has been chosen with especial reference to the convenience of the
student. And, while he is not encouraged to venture for himself into either
cases or text-books, save for the purpose of verifying or clearing up some
proposition of the lecture, or for the preparation of opinions or briefs, the student
is especially incited to familiarize himself with the bibliography of the
law and the use of the books. To this subject, in addition to the instruction
incidentally given, several lectures are especially devoted. The student is
taught how to look up authorities, where to look, and how to run down
cases; how to ascertain the doctrine of a case, and to distinguish it from the
dicta; to analyze, criticise and compare cases; how to distinguish imperative
authority from that which is persuasive only; what the leading text-books
are on the various subjects taught, with some reference to their comparative
merits; how to prepare briefs; and, generally, so to accustom himself to law
books and their use as to enable him to investigate, with intelligence and skill,
any question that may come within the scope of his duty at the bar.
