Students graduating in May are welcome to continue using the Law Libraries and its collections during the summer and beyond (subject to public access limitations). Alumni have additional privileges that extend beyond graduation. Specifically, those are:
Borrowing Privileges at the Law Library and other Penn State libraries
Recent graduates retain student borrowing privileges at all Penn State Libraries (including the Law Library) for several months after graduation. At some point in mid-to-late summer, the University updates its student records and converts recent graduates to “Resident-PA” status, at which point borrowing privileges are more limited but collections remain accessible. The University Libraries’ Alumni Library offers benefits targeted specifically to members of the Alumni Association such as complimentary access to selected library databases, Resource Centers for agriculture, business, health, news, and travel, as well as information about featured Penn State collections and events.
Lexis, Westlaw, and Bloomberg Law access
If you intend to use any one of these databases after graduation — Bloomberg Law, Lexis or Westlaw — you must change your email contact information for that database because your Penn State email account will likely expire before your access to this database does.
Bloomberg Law allows access to graduating students for six months after graduation. Access expires on November 30, 2026. You do not need to do anything to extend your access.
Lexis access will expire on December 31, 2026. During this time, there are no restrictions on how you use your Lexis ID, and you do not need to register for this additional access through the end of the year. Graduates working for a public interest organization may sign up for the Lexis ASPIRE Program, which permits job-related access to Lexis Advance for 12 months of free access to federal and state cases, codes, regulations, law reviews, Shepard’s and Matthew Bender treatises. The ASPIRE Program is for graduates who are engaged in verifiable 501(c)(3) public interest work. To apply, go to www.lexisnexis.com/grad-access. You must provide a letter from you employer to verify that it is a nonprofit organization.
Westlaw offers access to Thomson Reuters products, including Westlaw and Practical Law, for 18 months after graduation. Your “Grad Elite” access gives you 60-hours of usage on these products per month to gain understanding and build confidence in your research skills. While you cannot use it in situations where you are billing a client, you can use these tools to build your knowledge of the law and prepare for the bar exam. In addition, you get access to Knowledge Center Lessons on Westlaw for 18 months after graduation. To continue accessing Westlaw, graduates must register for “Grad Elite” access at https://lawschool.westlaw.com/authentication/gradelite or by logging into https://lawschool.thomsonreuters.com/.
