La Forest Rare Books Reading Room
The La Forest Rare Books Reading Room recognizes the accomplishments of The Honourable Mr. Justice Gérard V. La Forest throughout his career as a lawyer, law teacher and scholar, senior civil servant, and Justice of the New Brunswick Court of Appeal and of the Supreme Court of Canada. It also provides a secure, climate-controlled environment for the preservation of our important historic collections of legal materials for the benefit of future generations of law teachers, researchers, and scholars, as well as members of the Bar and the Judiciary. The room houses materials from the personal collection of Justice La Forest, including books, reports, articles, speeches, as well as newspaper clippings, photographs, and other memorabilia spanning his distinguished career.
The creation of this room was made possible by a lead donation from C. Anne Crocker, C.M, and generous donations from the New Brunswick Law Foundation and many others. The room was officially opened on Friday, March 23, 2012. Opening remarks by Professor David Bell, UNB Faculty of Law.
C. Anne Crocker New Brunswick Legal Heritage Collection
The room houses The C. Anne Crocker New Brunswick Legal Heritage Collection. This growing collection of historic legal materials preserves and reflects New Brunswick’s legal heritage by bringing together New Brunswick legal publications such as law reports, legislation, other reports and texts, as well as legal sources from other jurisdictions that were consulted by New Brunswick legal practitioners and scholars in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
It is named in honour of C. Anne Crocker, C.M., UNB Law Librarian Emerita, in recognition of her sustained efforts throughout her career to build the foundations of this collection, and her commitment to its preservation through the construction of this room.
The room also contains publications documenting the history and growth of the University of New Brunswick’s Faculty of Law.
Use of Rare Books Room Materials
Please consult our guidelines for proper handling of materials prior to using our historic collections.
No food or beverages, including water, are allowed in the room.
Books, periodicals, law reports, and legislation are included in UNB Libraries catalogue, WorldCat. Those with a location of LAW-RBROOM are located on open stacks in the room and may be consulted independently. Those with a location of LAW-RAREBK are housed in locked cabinets in the room and those with a location of LAW-RBSTOR are located in a separate storage room. Those wishing to consult materials in locked cabinets or the storage area should ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk, with access limited to 9:00 am–4:00 pm Monday to Friday.
The room is available for unsupervised use by students and other users, but preference will be given to those using materials in the room if demand exceeds seating capacity. The room is for quiet study on a first-come, first served basis. It is not available for booking as a conference room for group discussions or projects.