Members of the Grand Rapids Bar Association (GRBA) voted recently to transfer their law library to GVSU's new Richard M. DeVos Center in downtown Grand Rapids.
The law library will be part of the new Steelcase Library on the ground floor of the DeVos Center. The move will take place in time for the building's opening this fall.
GVSU will own and maintain the law library, which will be recognized as a gift of the GRBA. The Bar library is currently housed at 200 Monroe Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids. The cost of maintaining a library was a major factor in making the move.
GVSU intended to establish a law library whether or not we transfer our collection, said Mike Walton, GRBA president. It does not make sense for both organizations to maintain an expensive library.
With the move to GVSU, the library and its services will expand. According to Tom Butcher, University counsel at GVSU, Grand Valley will provide a practitioner's library including one university librarian with significant law experience. An advisory committee, including representatives of the GRBA, will help decide what materials the library will maintain.
Butcher added that current plans to have the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University offer programs at GVSU in Grand Rapids could lead to significant expansion of the library.
We anticipate the number of law volumes to increase to about 135,000, Butcher said. The library currently has 35,000 volumes.
