Both of the libraries on campus — the Helen K. and James S. Copley Library and the Katherine M. And George M. Pardee Jr. Legal Research Center — are places where learning leads to discovery, where discovery brings about breakthroughs and where purpose inspires true passion.
Copley Library
Located on the west side of campus, the library underwent a major renovation in the summer of 2020. It now includes places for active learning, teaching, collaboration and research, as well as spaces for classes, group projects, discussions, events and exhibits. There are also new spaces for individual study, casual gathering and outdoor gatherings.
The renovated Copley Library includes 38 small group study rooms and individual seating for 1,000 users in its event and outdoor spaces, as well as a lounge/reading room and five individual study spaces for the Camino Hall stacks.
Also of note are expanded exhibit, gallery and display spaces, three new library instruction rooms, two seminar rooms and a presentation room, as well as a faculty reading room, a journal reading room and university archives and special collections.
As one of the most beloved spaces on campus, Copley Library’s Mother Hill Reading Room — often called the "Harry Potter Library" by students — will remain unchanged.
Legal Research Center
The Katherine M. and George M. Pardee Jr. Legal Research Center, located east of the law school, is the region's premier law library. The library collection is available to law students and faculty, members of the USD community and other legal researchers.
Librarians trained in the law provide reference service during a majority of the library's operating hours. Within the beautiful seven-level building, students have access to ample individual and group study areas, convenient power outlets for laptop use, reliable wireless Internet access, two computer labs with black and white laser printing, dedicated computers for research near the print collections, laptop computers available for checkout and photocopy machines and microform readers/printers.
In addition to its extensive collection of print materials, the library offers great historical depth in its microforms and documents collection and subscribes to a wide array of online research databases for current and historical domestic, foreign and international legal materials.