Goodson Law Library

Location: Level 4

The George C. Christie Jurisprudence Collection, established in 1973, consists of treatises on jurisprudence and legal philosophy and is intended to promote the scholarly study of legal philosophy. It is named in honor of George C. Christie, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Law.

Location: Level 3

The Cox Legal Fiction Collection was established in 1987 by Brainerd Currie Professor of Law James D. Cox, who donated funds he received as the recipient of the Duke Bar Association Distinguished Teaching Award for the library to purchase novels and other fiction involving lawyers or legal themes. Professor Cox continues to provide generous support for this collection. The Cox Legal Fiction collection is designed to highlight law in popular culture, "in the hope that a fiction collection with some connection to the law may well spark students and others to enjoy a pleasant diversion while rationalizing it as field work." The collection contains current and historical novels with legal themes, as well as scholarly examinations of law and literature. This collection also includes popular films on DVD which feature lawyers as characters or have law-related themes.

Location: Level 2

The John D. Fite Training Room is a seminar classroom located inside the Goodson Law Library, which is frequently used for legal research instruction. The Fite Room is named in honor of the late alumnus John D. Fite (J.D. 1961).

Location: Level 2

The Gann Tax Area houses the Thigpen Tax Collection, which contains much of the library’s current print resources on federal taxation. The Tax Area is named for former Professor and Dean Pamela B. Gann (J.D. 1973), who led the Duke Law School from 1988-1999.

Location: Level 3

The Larson Reserve Collection contains both permanent and course reserve materials, which require limited circulation due to high demand or frequent use in Law School courses. Reserve items are only available to the Law community for limited duration loans.

Permanent Reserves includes student study aids, a selection of titles about attending law school and taking exams, legal dictionaries, current court rules, and other high-usage books. The Library is also pleased to offer a selection of convenience items including Mac laptop chargers, USB-C PC laptop chargers, phone chargers, bookstands, calculators, headphones, and umbrellas.

Course Reserves include required textbooks and other materials that are placed on reserve for a particular course at the request of the instructor. 

The collection is named in honor of Professor Arthur Larson, a member of the Duke Law faculty from 1958-1980. Prof. Larson taught international law courses and established the school's World Rule of Law Center (later called the Rule of Law Research Center), also serving as the center's director until his retirement.

Location: Level 3

The Oechler Reference Area houses the library's Reference Collection, materials intended for quick consultation to aid further research. The collection includes such standard reference sources as dictionaries (both legal and general); encyclopedias; citation guides and major style manuals; biographical directories; legal research guides for state, federal, foreign, and international jurisdictions; and selected standard reference tools from other disciplines. The collection also contains a small library of self-help guides to aid the general public with locating legal information.

The area is named for alumnus Henry J. Oechler Jr. (J.D. 1971), currently Of Counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright in New York.

Location: Level 3

The late Dr. Floyd M. Riddick (Ph.D. '37) and Marguerite F. Riddick were major benefactors of the Goodson Law Library. The Riddicks provided the naming gift for the Floyd M. Riddick and Marguerite F. Riddick Rare Books and Special Collections Room, and established an endowment to support the Library's collections in the areas of legislative and parliamentary procedure and American government. Photographs from Dr. Riddick's career are housed in the room, as well as an unusual portrait of Chief Justice John Marshall, which is a copy of an 1808 crayon-on-pink-paper original by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin (1770-1852). The original portrait is in the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.

For a description of the materials in the Riddick Room and links to archival collection finding aids, visit Special Collections.

Location: Level 3

The William F. Stevens Federal Area contains primary U.S. federal legal materials, such as the current official and unofficial versions of the U.S. Code; the Code of Federal Regulations; slip laws from the current session of Congress; and historical collections of the United States Statutes at Large and U.S.C.C.A.N. Federal court reporters and digests are located nearby.

The Federal Area is named for alumnus William F. Stevens (J.D. 1970), currently Senior Counsel in the Atlanta office of Dentons.

Location: Level 2

The Tax Collection is named for the late alumnus Richard Elton Thigpen Sr. (Trinity College 1923), a former trustee of Duke University (1953-1973) who later established his own tax practice in Charlotte.

[Source: Eric Frazier, Richard Thigpen, Champion of Law, Education, Dies - 102-Year-Old Served on School Board, was Charlotte Tax Lawyer, Charlotte Observer (NC), Dec. 29, 2002]

Location: Level 3

The Clarence W. Walker North Carolina Area features primary and secondary legal materials from the state. Primary sources include a set of the session laws, North Carolina Register and Administrative Code, and official and unofficial court reporters. A set of North Carolina General Statutes can be found in the State Codes collection nearby, and Shepard's Citations are found in the Oechler Reference Area. Secondary sources in this area include North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, subject treatises, and Strong's North Carolina Index; other secondary materials on North Carolina law can be found in the General Collection.

The area is named for alumnus Clarence W. Walker (LL.B. 1955).