A Photo Tour of My New Home

I live just south of the school, so I walk every day.  Thus far it hasn't rained too hard.  If it does, I'll just walk faster.  Since I walk up Indiana from Third, this is the view I get every morning.  The windows on this side are some of the large classrooms (for 1L classes and larger upper-levels).

The facade of the building, made of solid Indiana limestone.

Next we head into the law library.  It is one of the 20 largest law libraries in the nation, and it is cut off from all non-law students.  Once you pass through circulation and the sealed doors, you enter a world where silence is the law.  The sound of a cell phone will get you permanently shunned, especially if it is exam season.  The first thing you see is "The Pit," a lower level that has various tables and couches.  The windows look out onto Dunn Woods.  The lights you see on the tables are often lit well past midnight.

There is one level of stacks below The Pit, but looking up you can see the various floors.  A huge skylight brings in the wonderful Bloomington sun.  The floors you see contain over 750,000 books.

I spend the most time on the second floor.  It has several small conference rooms that we use for our study group.  My summer carrel is on this floor.  All five floors above ground open onto the woods.  Here we look northeast across The Pit towards the woods.

Most students get carrels.  They're our homes away from home.  You can leave books and study materials there, without worrying about people taking them (no one would risk getting disbarred to steal a book).  During the summer we can choose whichever ones we want, which is why I've got this great one.  In the regular semester, 3Ls and 2Ls get first choice, and we choose from the rest.  Since this location is so good, odds are that it will get taken quickly.  I'll end up on the fourth floor away from all windows.

My carrel is loaded with Criminal Law books, including the Model Penal Code with Commentaries (three volumes), three different Criminal Law textbooks, a book of effective trial practice for prosecutors, and a few topical books (in this photo, I was studying conspiracy, so I have a few books on it).

My windows look out onto the woods.  The building you see is the observatory.  On Wednesday nights, when they open the telescope, these windows are sealed off so our light doesn't prevent stargazing.  You can see why I chose this particular carrel.

My favorite section of the Law Library is the stacks.  Anyone that knows me knows how much I love books, and the more there are, the happier I am.  My favorite section is the criminal law and procedure section, where topics range from competency to stand trial, to investigatory rights, to guides on how to defend or prosecute every crime you can imagine.