Jacob Burns Law Library

The Jacob Burns Law Library is the library for the National Law Center of The George Washington University (later known as the George Washington University Law School), located in Washington, D.C. The library building was completed in 1967. The library is named after a prominent New York lawyer, who was a 1924 graduate of the National Law Center and started the building project by donating $500,000. The Law Library, part of Columbian College's Law School, was first located in Columbia Heights. From 1865 to 1884 the Library was at old Trinity Church 416 5th St. NW and then moved to the University Building at 15th and H St. NW through 1899. During this time the library was a room with an attached reading room. In 1899, the Law Library moved to the Law Lecture Hall on H St. east of 15th St. till 1910. Here the library had most of the third floor and the reading room contained wicker furniture with shelves against the wall. Then the library relocated to the rented upper floors of the Masonic Temple's auditorium's balcony on 13th St. and New York Ave. NW for the next ten years. In 1920, the Law Library transfered to the old Justice Department Building at 1435 K St. NW until 1925. Then the Law Library moved to the fourth floor and part of the third floor of Stockton Hall (720 20th St. NW) through 1967 with intermited storage times in the basement of Linser Library on G St. NW. During the 1950s plans for the National Law Center building were abortive but allowed a partial fund for the Jacob Burns Law Library. In 1967, the Law Library moved into the Jacob Burns Law Library next door to Stockton Hall at 716 20th St. NW. The building is designed to hold 170,000 volumes, four reading rooms, a seminar room, offices, and space for microform readers. In 2005, the library grew to hold more than 500,000 volumes.