Virtual Tour

The fourth floor reading room of the Social Law Library

The Social Law Library was established in 1804 and is the oldest law library of its kind in the United States. The library's new facility on the fourth and fifth floors of the courthouse provides over 77,000 linear feet of shelving and 4000 square feet of research and study space. It houses over a half million volumes of legal writings. The library serves all Massachusetts judges and law clerks, the legislative and executive branches of Massachusetts government, and lawyers and law firms throughout the Commonwealth.