A common question asked by law students
On the Info Desk, I have had two law students who work on law journals come in and ask about checking out journals from our library and "racking" them at the Law Library.
What to do: If you get this question, tell the student that only certain Law Library materials can be "racked" in this way, and they should talk to the Reference Librarian at the Law Library about getting materials that are outside the Law Library. Most importantly, if they decide to check the sources out anyway, remind them that they are still personally responsible for the materials, and they must bring the materials back by our due dates.
The all-important Why: If you're curious, these law students are gathering source texts that have been cited in articles that are soon to be published in law journals. The Law Library has set up a special arrangement with their own collection so that these students can have materials on a special reserve shelf, to be used by journal editors. Once the editors are finished with these materials, they get sent back to the regular shelves. For materials that the Law Library does not own, Reference Librarians guide them in using other means such as Interlibrary Loan.