History & Mission

Exterior photograph of the Victor Miceli Law Library at nighttime.

The Law Library is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees made up of community judges and attorneys. The first official minutes of the Riverside County Board of Law Library Trustees were recorded on April 28, 1941 and the original collection of a few thousand books was housed in the Chambers of Department 1 in the Superior Courthouse. In 1947, the books were relocated to the former Probation Department in the Courthouse, which increased space and use by the public.  A branch collection became available in Indio during the 1950s, with its first full time employee being installed there in 1968.

The rapid growth of the Law Library and its use, as well as the growth of the County, resulted in construction of a three-story building in 1970 which expanded the Law Library to 10,110 square feet on the ground floor and mezzanine, with the remainder being occupied by the Office of the County Counsel. A beautiful 7,000 square foot addition to the first floor was added in 1992, and the Law Library was named after its long-time Board President, the Honorable Victor Miceli.

In 1996, the Desert Branch in Indio moved out of the County Administration Building basement into 5,800 square feet of prime space in the new Larson Justice Center. In February 2015, the Indio branch library moved into 6,500 square feet of prime space in the County Law Building. Because of this and the Main Library’s expansion, Riverside is now ranked seventh in the State’s 58 county law library system, following Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Orange, Alameda and San Bernardino.

Mission

To enable everyone in Riverside County to perform the highest level of research and practice through free and open access to the law.

Goals

  • To make available to the public a balanced and fiscally sustainable collection of print and electronic legal materials that is current and relevant to the information needs of the community.
  • To provide access to modern and well-maintained facilities that enable library users to engage in research, study, and collaboration.
  • To provide knowledgeable and fully skilled library staff that facilitates access and use of available legal and information resources.
  • To serve as an effective conduit between the public and the world of legal research and practice.