The Library collects most available primary and secondary legal material in the English language and in the French language when French is the only language of publication. Retrospectively, the collection includes practically all published legal Canadiana through approximately 1980. Where older material is not available, photocopies or microforms are purchased. For legislation, the library attempts to have a hard copy available. Legal manuscripts are purchased if they are considered to be of scholarly importance.
Access is available to all Canadian legal databases.
The Library collects a high portion of scholarly works and a selection of practitioner works that are national in scope. Mainly academic periodicals are collected with some subject ones in general, practitioner periodicals are not bought. Most Federal government documents are not collected since they are in the Government Documents Library. Most state specific material is not collected. Access is available to major U.S. legal databases.