Scope and Content Note
The records of the Law Library, a part of the Library of Congress Archives, span the years 1905-1963, with the bulk of the material dating from 1926 to 1943. Most of the series consists of correspondence or papers of the law librarian, John T. Vance. This series documents the operations of the Law Library and includes correspondence, bibliographies, printed matter, photographs and a guest book. The collection is organized into two groups: general office files and John T. Vance desk papers. General office files mainly include general Law Library correspondence as well as correspondence with donors. Specific correspondence relates to efforts to establish a collection of works in the Law Library to honor the memory of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.. Also included is correspondence with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in 1933 relating to the possible establishment of an institute of criminology in Washington, D.C. Also included in the general office file is a guest book for the Law Library and periodicals. The John T. Vance desk papers cover Vance's time as law librarian (1924-1943) and includes general correspondence, Vance's speeches and writings, photographs, and newspaper clippings in Spanish.