Orange County Public Law Library

The Orange County Public Law Library is a public law library open to everyone. It is located in the Santa Ana Civic Center and housed in a 30,000 square foot, 5 story facility. The Orange County Public Law Library derives its income from a portion of the filing fees in civil cases heard in the Superior Courts of Orange County. It is therefore supported by litigants, who derive the main benefit from the Law Library, rather than by general tax funds.

It is the only public law library in Orange County supplying legal information and resources to judges, attorneys, and government officials, as well as to members of the general public. The Law Library is governed by the Law Library Board of Trustees--seven members drawn from the Orange County bench and bar, and the County Board of Supervisors. It is administered by the Law Library Director.

In 1891 the California legislature enacted a statute authorizing a law library in each county. The Orange County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance providing for such a library (Ord. No. 14, May 6, 1891; effective May 21, 1891). By 1893, the Library consisted of 291 volumes.

The Law Library shared its first location in the Congden-Billings Building with County offices and the Superior Court at 502 East Fourth Street in Santa Ana. When the Orange County Courthouse was completed in 1901, the Law Library moved there. By 1915, however, the Library moved to two small rooms in the Orange County Trust & Savings Bank on West Fourth Street. In 1931 the Library moved back to the second floor of the Courthouse and employed its first full-time librarian. In 1960 the Library outgrew its Courthouse location and moved again to an adjacent annex.

In 1967 the County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance reconstituting the Law Library under provisions of the Law Library Act of 1941 (California Business & Professions Code §§ 6300 et seq.). The Law Library Board of Trustees then authorized expenditure of funds for construction of the Law Library building adjacent to the Orange County Courthouse in the Civic Center Plaza. That building was completed and occupied in 1971, with five stack areas and 28,084 square feet of space. The expansion completed in 2006 added 19,370 square feet, for a total of 47,454. The Law Library building houses over 342,000 hardcover and microfiche volumes. Seventeen full time and five part time staff members provide Library services in the Flower Street building.

Library Facilities