Law schools and their libraries

While the courts of the land were building their collections, even as late as the 1960's one could only study the law at the state university of each Australian state (including the ACT). The schools were small, and the libraries smaller. [1] Most people who entered into the field of law still did so as an apprentice, and formal qualifications were not necessary to pass the various law society entrance exams. Law firms had not yet begun to create their own libraries, and typically the clerks in training were sent to the nearest court house to gather material for the matter at hand [2].

The 1980's saw a sharp increase in the number of students wanting to study law, and competition for the best students led to a marked increase in both the size and quality of the law libraries.

Even in the USA law libraries did not begin to be formalized as professional institutions until the mid 1950's. In 1953 the American Association of Law Librarians held its first four day "institute". [3] The speakers were all pioneering academic law librarians. The association discussed methods of training law librarians, and by the late 1960's there were more than a dozen schools offering professional courses in law librarianship.

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Research notes:

[1] Setting a precedent: the evolution of the Australian Law Librarians' Association 1969-2009 (page 7)
[2] read this numerous places.. err. think of citation or leave out?
[3]Milestones in Academic Law Libraries / AALL Spectrum Vol. 9 No. 9 July 2005 pp10-13