LIBRARY.
The department is provided with an excellent law library, which has recently
received considerable additions, and contains 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.
