Squire Law Library appeal

A Celebration

The Squire Law Library celebrated its centenary year in 2004. The Squire had only about 8,000 books when it was opened in 1904 by King Edward VII; it has since grown into one of the three largest and finest academic law collections in the United Kingdom. In addition the Squire is proud to be a part of the Cambridge University Library (UL) and to contribute to the UL's reputation as one of the most important research collections in the world.

As part of the celebration, on 3rd March 2004 Lord Woolf delivered the Squire Centenary Lecture entitled 'The Rule of Law and a Change in Constitution'. Recordings, a transcript, and a gallery of photographs of the event are available.

The Squire: meeting the next challenge

Law, as an academic discipline, is in a constant state of change and growth. The modern Squire works hard to keep pace with this exciting and exacting process of change and seeks, where possible, to facilitate teaching, research and learning in all aspects of the law, and in other related areas, across all jurisdictions. The Squire is committed to meeting the needs of the lawyers of tomorrow by providing relevant material both in the traditional printed format and also through the many electronic services available and by delivering the highest quality of service and user support. There are now many different resources from which to chose and effective user education is therefore of paramount importance; the Squire is committed to providing an informative and instructive service in this constantly changing environment. The library needs support, however, if it is to realise these ambitions.

The Squire seeks continuing support to help maintain and develop its services for the future

Legal research demands an ever-widening array of materials. The lawyers and legal academics of the 21st century need access to materials from a vast range of social, economic and political fields and the modern library must be able to respond to the challenge of accommodating these broader interests. The Squire (like all libraries) feels the pressure exerted by the ongoing and spectacular increase in the volume of material being published across the world.

The Squire seeks support for the following activities:

• enhancing the Squire's core collection and allow for the purchase of additional copies of the texts central to undergraduate study;
• securing the long term future of subscriptions for electronic resources;
• subscribing to a greater number of overseas serial titles in order to support a broader range of comparative interests within the faculty;
• employing more staff to provide high level and informed user support;
• purchasing new electronic and computing equipment;

Investment in the Squire Law Library will ensure that current and future Cambridge law students have access to the best educational resources available and that researchers have the opportunity to pursue and develop their own specialist interests.

The establishment of the Squire Trust Fund means that the Squire can continue to strengthen its position as a world-class law library and to continue to support students, academics and practitioners now and in the future.

For further information about the Trust Fund please contact:

Annabel Edwards: Development Associate, Law (annabel.edwards@admin.law.cam.ac.uk)