Whether it’s 3 p.m. or 3 a.m., chances are you will find students working in the William & Mary Law Library — their laptops open behind a mountain of casebooks. “We’re open to students 24 hours a day,” explains Jim Heller, director of the Law Library and professor of law. “And when our students aren’t in class, they are here in the library.”

The Law Library may be a second home to many students, but it is a home   in urgent need of renovation. Its shelves are packed and its 1970s design no longer meets the technological needs of students and faculty. “This library was built before the digital revolution — before the Internet or LexisNexis  and Westlaw,” says Heller, referring to two digital resources central to modern legal research. “We have adapted it to keep pace, but we simply need more — and differently configured — space.”

Noting the lack of electrical outlets for laptops, and the seventies-era, institutional lighting, Tripp Whitbeck ’06 agrees. “I can’t say the current library   is the most comfortable place to study,” he laughs, “but we do  soldier on, as good law students should!”

Fortunately, law students will not have to “soldier on” much longer. The Law School broke ground on a 28,000-square-foot library addition this past spring which will be followed by a renovation of the existing building. Public funds from a state bond referendum will cover the majority of the project’s $16.8 million cost, but William & Mary must also raise $3.8 million of that total in private funds.

In November 2004, the Law School was given a big boost toward meeting  that goal when the Gladys and Franklin Clark Foundation announced a $1 million commitment to the project.

“William & Mary relishes its place in history as the first law school in   America, but we also understand the challenges of remaining a first-class institution through the 21st century,” says Taylor Reveley, dean of the Law School. “Our capacity to continue advancing is greatly enhanced by the Clark Foundation’s marvelous support of the new law library — a project flatly essential to the Law School’s future.”

The Law School has designed a library that will serve the School well into the 21st century, with nearly every seat wired for computers. More than just technologically advanced, the library will also be an inviting place for students to study, featuring three comfortable reading rooms with an abundance of windows. Almost two-thirds larger, it will also house group study rooms, a computer training laboratory, space for students working on its four law journals and more shelf space. It will also include a rare books room highlighting such treasures as Chief Justice John Marshall’s family Bible.

“The library will reflect the high caliber of our school,” Heller asserts. “We compete with schools such as Emory, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, and Washington and Lee — institutions that have made significant improvements to their libraries over the years. Prospective students really look at each school’s library, because they know they are going to spend a lot of time there.”

Once the project is complete, students will still be spending countless late nights in the Law Library. But — thanks to the support of alumni, friends and organizations like the Clark Foundation — they’ll be a lot more comfortable doing so.

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Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern has designed a bright new library addition for the south side of the Law School building.