PROVO — The BYU Howard W. Hunter Law Library has been ranked the 25th best law library in the country.
The National Jurist, a magazine sent to nearly 100,000 law students, ranked the top 50 of the nation's 198 law libraries based on the number of volumes and titles as the biggest factor, followed by the ratio of seating to enrollment.
Librarian-to-student ratio, then accessibility and convenience of the library were also factors.
The University of Iowa topped the chart with 1.2 million volumes, nearly 770,000 titles, 1.1 seats per student and 38.5 students per librarian.
Yale was No. 2; Harvard checked in at No. 8. The 2010 NCAA men's basketball champion Duke was No. 19. BYU, at No. 25, was just behind the University of Chicago.
BYU has 507,614 volumes, 212,952 titles, 38 students per librarian and 1.98 library seats per person — the highest ratio among the top 50 libraries.
Each law student is also assigned his or her own study carrel, and there are 25 private rooms students can reserve for group study sessions.
The J. Reuben Clark Law School was completed in 1975 with a 71,000-square-foot library addition added in 1996.
For more details on the top 50 law libraries, visit www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/nationaljurist0310/#/22.
— Sara Israelsen-Hartley