The Library of the Law School, is located at the historical building of the Athens University "Palaio Chimio".
History of the Library
The first collection of legal books goes back to 1837 when the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) was founded. The School of Law was one of the first faculties of the University. Most of Library’s collections have been donated by renowned Law School Professors and continue to grow both from University funds and donations. It is considered to be one of the most well-known Law University Libraries, covering all branches of civil and common law.
The new Library of the Law School opened to the public on 12/10/2016 and the official inauguration took place on 4/4/2017 in the historic building of the “Old Chemistry Laboratory”, an architectural masterpiece and an important monument of the City of Athens and it is the outcome of the merging of the previous individual Libraries of the School of Law.
The Library of the Law School covers the needs and demands of the members of School of Law and is also committed to benefit the legal community, providing its users with easy, integrated access to legal information in all possible formats. It also supports and promotes academic activities of both undergraduate and postgraduate programs of NKUA. Moreover, the Library supports the NKUA’s humanitarian and cultural role.
The building, designed by the German architect Ernst Ziller, was constructed in the late 1870’s, and for more than a century it housed the laboratories of the Faculties of Physics and Mathematics of the NKUA. It has been listed as a historic monument by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.
In addition, this unique building has been officially characterized as “preserved monument” by the Ministry of Culture, including its scientific equipment dating back to 1837. The building, which has been fully restored, will in the future house, apart from the Library, the Museum of Natural Sciences and Technology and the centre of the University’s cultural events and activities.
Collection
The Library of the Law School is organized according to the international standards of Academic Libraries.
The Library’s collections include materials in all forms in Greek, German, French, English, and Italian languages. The Law School's Library collection comprises of approximately 100,000 books and 900 titles of journals, covering all branches of Law in Greek and foreign literature.
The material is classified by subject on open shelves for the examination of the users and is arranged by Universal Decimal Classification number. Apart from the printed collections, the Library has digitized important legal journals and collective works, which are available via Pergamos, the unified Institutional Repository/Digital Library of NKUA (https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/frontend/en/index.html). In addition, the Library provides access to national and international legal databases.
Library activities
The Library offers seminars and conferences for professional Librarians - Archivists and also organizes many cultural activities, which manifest its educational and cultural role. So far, it has organized special seminars and workshops on different legal issues (such as copyright, data protection, freedom of speech etc). It also coordinates the “Law and Art Team”, a collaboration among Library, students and professors and organizes many free cultural events on a regular basis.
Tour to the Library
The Library occupies parts of three floors of the Old Chemistry Laboratory building with a total area of 1400 sq m. The Library building is fully accessible with elevators to all levels.
Ground floor:
First floor:
Second floor:
