Effective Saturday, April 26, 1997, the law library at the Cumberland School of Law will no longer be open to the general public. A list of permitted users and the process for obtaining permission are set out below.

We come to this policy reluctantly. We are proud of the Beeson Law Library and what it reflects about the past, present, and future of the Cumberland School of Law. We have enjoyed showing it off. But, the extensive and increasing use of the library by other than our own students and faculty has put an unacceptable strain on our limited resources. This new access policy will protect our investment in the library and preserve its use for our students, members of the legal profession, and others engaging in legal research.

Access to the law library will be restricted to (1) Samford University students, faculty, and staff with a current Samford identification card; (2) Cumberland alumni; (3) attorneys and members of an attorney's support staff with appropriate identification (e.g., bar membership card, business card) (4) scholars or students who need to research materials in our library that are not available elsewhere in the Birmingham area; and (5) visitors to the Samford campus who are interested in seeing or touring the library.

Any person other than a member of the Cumberland faculty, staff, or student body must register at the circulation desk and provide the appropriate identification. Those falling in category (4) above should request, in advance and in writing, a research pass from the Law Librarian. A form is available for this purpose. A letter stating a specific academic purpose for using the library collection consistent with our access policies, is also sufficient.

We appreciate the understanding of our patrons and visitors as we implement this policy. It will undoubtedly evolve over its first several months. This procedure is less convenient for all our users, but we believe it both necessary and appropriate to facilitate the use of the library by its primary audience.