A Law Student's (Mini) Library

Just recently I looked at the shelves beside our TV set as I get books for reading. I can't figure out whether I should be amazed at the many books already lining these shelves or worried because this collection is considered 'bare' compared to other law students.

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I'm serious. Basically, the books right here are just those which were prescribed to us by our professors back then (codals excluded). I actually know some students. who buy supplemental books for a second reading (much like getting a second opinion from another doctor), which results to, well, a whole wall segment dedicated to law books. Some of them, especially those who are about to take the bar exams, include their compilation of reviewers and review materials in their library.

Lawyers are another story. Aside from these 'annotated' books (meaning those with discussions, illustrative cases and what-have-yous, all provided by the author) and review materials , there are those who actually had a full SCRA and Phil collection.

*Author's note: Phil stands for Philippine Reports Annotated, while SCRA means Supreme Court Reports Annotated. These books contain all the cases decided upon by the Supreme Court from the year 1901 to the present time. Phil is a collection of cases from 1901-1961 compiled in 110 volumes; while SCRA is a compilation of cases from 1961 to the present. As of June 2012, SCRA has 660 volumes.

But since I still can't get my head off this collection, I decided to take pictures of my 'mini-library' and the books that make up my collection.

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These are the bigger, hard-bound books in my collection. They are placed on top shelf because the overhead space provides for more, well, space for these books to be stored neatly.

List of books (L-R)
1. The Revised Penal Code Volume One by Luis B. Reyes
2. Essentials of Transportation and Public Utilities Law by Timoteo B. Aquino and Ramon Paul J. Hernando
3. Legal Ethics by Usec. Ernesto Pineda
4. The Law on Labor Standards by Dean Antonio H. Abad, Jr.
5. The Law on Persons and Family Relations by Elmer Rabuya.

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Here on this shelf are my paperbacks. Most of these books are typical law books which I had an option to buy in paperback because such are much cheaper than hard-bound. Two of these books are actually college edition books: take note that some courses in college such as Accountancy and business-related courses also have law-related subjects, and so college-edition law books are made available for such students. I usually pick up college-edition books whenever possible, because I only had a bare background on laws, and these books discuss laws in its simplest yet most understandable way possible. At the same time, I'm being guided by discussions with professors and other reference materials.

List of books (L-R)
1. The Insurance Code of the Philippines by Rufus Rodriguez
2. The Law on Obligations and Contracts by Hector de Leon and Hector de Leon, Jr.
3. The Law on Sales, Agency and Credit Transactions by Hector de Leon and Hector de Leon, Jr.
4. Torts and Damages Annotated by Usec. Ernesto Pineda
5. Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004 by Reynaldo Aralar
(not shown: International Law and World Organizations by Jorge Coquia and Miriam Defensor-Santiago)

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These are what we call codals -- the full text of the essential laws that we law students tackle in almost every subject that we take up. Our professor, Atty. Ernesto Salao, pioneered the downsizing of these books into smaller ones so that students can easily fit these books into their bags. After all, professors would tell us that these books are primary, and annotated law books are secondary.

List of Books (L-R)
1. The Labor Code of the Philippines
2. Civil Code of the Philippines.
3. The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
4. Rules of Court
5. Revised Penal Code of the Philippines

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Here are more of the 'big books' I have on hand. Since the top shelf (which, as I have mentioned, has more space for big books like them) is already occupied, I placed these books on this shelf. I usually stack these books whenever they are placed here, but I found a way to 'squeeze' them standing up so I could show their spines to the camera. (In Tagalog, 'saglit na tiis-ganda')

List of Books
1. Essentials of Intellectual Property Law by Ernesto Salao
2. Civil Code of the Philippines Volume II by Justice Edgardo Paras

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So there you have it, my own version of 'mini-library.' I really hope I could get these books a shelf of their own so that I could get them easily whenever I need them. Besides, I expect that my collection will get bigger in time, so I need space to accommodate them. :)