Laura Griffiths, Academic Services Manager, explains why and how new LLM students at the University of London should join IALS Library.

The start of the new academic year is fast approaching, and the IALS library is looking forward to welcoming the new cohort of University of London LLM students, all of whom are welcome to register with us for free membership! Whilst being able to access not just your college library but the collections and resources at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Library might not sound like the most exciting aspect of your new degree, it might just be one of the most useful things you can do at the start of term!

WHY you should join the IALS Library

For many years now, the IALS library has been building up substantial collections on numerous different areas of law, covering hundreds of different jurisdictions, and including rare and unique items and niche special interest materials. In effect, we hold the national legal research collection. Although ordinarily membership is restricted to academics at postgraduate research level and above we have a special arrangement with KCL, LSE, QMUL, SOAS and UCL to provide library support to their LLM courses – we do this by purchasing material indicated on all reading lists, to complement our fantastic research collection and other resources. At postgraduate level, the onus is on you to research a bit more deeply so where better to come? Our friendly and experienced reference team are available to support and train you in all aspects of legal research throughout your academic programme, and all this in a newly refurbished library that doesn’t allow undergraduates in!!

HOW you can join the IALS library

We know that the start of term can feel like an endless procession of signing up for things, so we have tried to make the process of joining the library as simple as possible! The first step is to fill in a membership form – you may have received one in your induction pack but they can also be found on our website here http://ials.sas.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/Students_2018.pdf As a University of London LLM student, you just need to complete section 1 and section 2A (and of course sign and date at the end of the form!). This, and your college student card, are all you need to join!

On Friday 20th and Friday 27th September, we will be holding dedicated induction days specifically for university of London LLM students, where staff will be available all day between 10am and 3pm to take your registration. We will also be running tours of the library all day and giving introductory talks about our electronic resources. If you can make it, just drop into the IALS library with your membership application and college card. If you can’t make it to our induction days don’t worry! You can still come and register with us any time after Monday 30th September – library tours and introductory talks on e-resources will still be happening (although slightly less frequently) during the first week of term.