Supreme Court Library | State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts

The Library of the Supreme Court of Illinois dates back to 1842. Since 1908, the library has been located in the Supreme Court Building in Springfield. The library primarily serves the Judicial branch of the State of Illinois, however the library is also made available to state, federal, and local governments, the bar, and the general public.

A private branch library, located in the Chicago loop, is maintained for the use of the Supreme Court in Chicago and the First District Appellate Court.

Reference service

Please submit your Supreme Court Library Reference Questions to SCLibrary_Questions@illinoiscourts.gov. You will receive an auto-reply message to let you know that we have received your email.

In the event that you do not receive an auto-reply, please give us a call to ensure your email was received: (217) 782-2424.

Questions submitted to the library should be for library personnel regarding library matters exclusively. Law librarians are available to help library users locate information, identify relevant resources, and develop search strategy. Library staff are unable to give legal advice or interpret the law. Library staff are unable to advocate on behalf of individuals to the courts, law enforcement, or other government agencies. The library staff reserve the right to decline to respond to emails which do not fall within the library’s scope.

Information provided by the law library should not be substituted for legal advice. We recommend you contact an attorney for advice specific to the facts of your situation.

The Collection

The library contains well over 100,000 volumes consisting of federal and state primary authority, as well as secondary authority, including encyclopedias, treatises, loose-leaf services, case digests, ALR's and subscriptions to over 350 legal periodicals.

The catalog for the Springfield library treatise collection is available online and searchable at http://iscs.illshareit.com

Research Guides

The library makes a series of guides available to assist library users in their research. See the "Research Guides" page for access to these items.

Circulation Policy

The Supreme Court of Illinois Library is not a lending library. Under Supreme Court Rule 33, library materials do not circulate.

Photocopiers and Printers

Self-service photocopiers and printers are available to the public for the strictly enforced purpose of legal materials only. Each library user is limited to 50 photocopied and/or printed pages per person, per day. This page limit is also strictly enforced by Library staff.

Document Delivery Services

The library is only able to send materials as PDFs attached to a valid e-mail address. We are unable to provide materials through fax or mailing services such as USPS

Accessibility to Individuals with Disabilities

The library is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Library staff make all reasonable efforts to meet the needs of library users with disabilities. Library users with special needs are encouraged to seek assistance at the Reference Desk in advance of their library visit.

Telephones

We do not have outgoing telephone or fax service for use by Library visitors. Library users are asked to use their cellular phones in the hallway outside the Library.