The Bernard G. Segal Law Library is located on Mount Scopus in the impressively beautiful David Wolffsohn Building.  The Wolffsohn Building served as the home of the Jewish National and University Library until 1948.  It is among the first buildings built on the Hebrew University Mount Scopus campus and the first that was built outside the Gray Hill Estate.  The cornerstone for the future National Library was laid on 14 July 1926, however the building of the Library was delayed because of damages from the 1927 earthquake and other events.  As a result, the Library's opening ceremony did not take place until 15 April 1930.
From the beginning, the Library’s large central hall served as a gathering place for ceremonies and special events of the Hebrew University.  On the roof of the building an impressive domed room was built which served as the office of the first University president, Dr. Yehuda Magnes.  The domed roof soon became the prominent symbol of the Library building.  In 1940 the building was enlarged and later, a new wing including classrooms was built.
After the 1967 Six-Day War, the University Mount Scopus campus renewed its academic activities and the Wolffsohn building was named The Felt Centre for Legal Studies.  The building became the dwelling of the library of the Faculty of Law.  Today, the Library also serves the faculty's Institute of Criminology, The Institute for Research in Jewish Law, The Harry Sacher Institute for Legislative Research and Comparative Law, and The Minerva Center for Human Rights.
The Law Library collection is wide and varied and  houses a rich and growing print and electronic collection, along with  multiple databases and legal online sources.      The library has a unique collection of research materials in the major European languages, covering all areas of law.  Alongside contemporary legal materials, the collection also includes Hebrew, English and Arabic historical resources covering, for example, the Ottoman period and the British Mandatory period.  Collection development policy emphasizes foreign and international comparative law, including American as well as Commonwealth and Continental country legal resources.  The library, of course, houses a comprehensive collection of historical and current Israeli legal resources.  The breadth and depth of the collections provides a rich research opportunity and highlights the Law Library’s high regard among other important legal libraries in the world.

 

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