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 incited to familiarize himself not only with the
leading cases to which his attention is called, but especially
with the bibliography of the law and the use of the
books. To the latter subject, in addition to the instruction
incidentally given, several lectures are specially devoted.
The student is taught how to consult authorities, where to
look, and how to run down cases; how to ascertain the
doctrine of a case, and to distinguish doctrine from dicta; to
analyze, criticise and compare cases; 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; 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.
