The Library has a variety of books with legal forms that may be copied. Some examples include: 101 Law Forms for Personal Use, The Most Valuable Business Forms You'll Ever Need, How to Negotiate Real Estate Contracts for Buyers and Sellers, Leases and Rental Agreements, and California Judicial Council Forms.

For attorneys and other legal professionals, the American Bar Association Directory contains information on the ABA, its sections, and its affiliate branches. It also lists other legal organizations, bar associations, and disciplinary agencies. Attorneys are listed alphabetically with contact information. Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory is a multi–volume set. The major part is a state by state listing of attorneys, corporate law departments, and law firms. Other volumes contain international attorneys and firms, legal services yellow pages, and U.S. and international law digests. General information on attorneys includes education, date admitted to the bar, and contact information. Some attorneys are also listed under the firms section with more biographical information. California Directory of Attorneys is a more limited resource that contains an alphabetical listing of Southern California and Northern California lawyers, law schools, courts, legal associations, legal service providers, etc. It is published by the Daily Journal, the Los Angeles legal newspaper. Parker Directory of California Attorneys is arranged geographically by county and lists attorneys alphabetically with contact information. In volume 2 it provides information on state and federal courts, California law schools and law libraries, private judges and arbitrators, and certified court reporters by county.

For low–cost legal assistance service directories like Los Angeles County Rainbow Resource Directory and Santa Monica/Westside Guide to Health Care and Social Services Agencies are helpful and many local telephone directories list similar services under the yellow page heading "Legal Clinics."

Legal codes include up-to-date print copies of West's Annotated California Codes and United States Code Annotated for state and federal laws and California's Statutes and Amendments and the U.S. Congressional and Administrative News for the history of the legislation. A five year file of the Federal Register is available in the Periodicals Department.  The complete Santa Monica Municipal Code is available and is updated regularly. The Library also maintains a collection of the technical codes currently in use by the City, such as the Uniform Building Code, Uniform Plumbing Code, and the Uniform Mechanical Code.

Legal research handbooks such as Legal Research: How To Find and Understand the Law and Locating the Law: a Handbook for Non-law Librarians with an Emphasis on California Law by the Southern California Association of Law Libraries can help you use the available resources to advantage.

Information on the courts includes California Courts and Judges, Want's Federal-State Court Directory, County Courthouse Book, and Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory provide addresses and contact information for courts of various types. California Courts and Judges provides addresses and contact information for the courts as well as judges' names and biographical information while Want's directory provides only judges' names. Both are published annually contain additional information on the organization of the court system. The County Courthouse Book lists over 3,000 courthouses throughout the United States with contact information. Additional information for each court includes available records, cost of searches and copies, informative state profiles, and alternative locations for records.

To assist citizens through the court process the Library collection includes materials like Represent Yourself in Court, Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court in California, and Jurors' Rights. The Library also keeps current editions of the Los Angeles County Court Rules: Superior and Municipal Courts published by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.

Library resources for locating law schools and libraries include Barron's Guide to Law Schools, Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools, Directory of Special Libraries and Information Centers, and American Library Directory. Other legal directories that include listings for law schools and libraries are the Martindale Hubbell Legal Directory and California Directory of Attorneys cited above.  Annual ratings and surveys, such as the one published by U.S. News & World Report on the best graduate and professional schools, are a good source of information on best law schools. Check the Library database InfoTrac OneFile articles ranking law schools.

The Library tries to provide books for the lay person on various legal subjects. Use the online catalog to locate relevant items. Nolo Press books self-help legal books provide an excellent source of legal information on topics ranging from landlord-tenant or neighbor law to small claims and municipal court procedures or incorporating a business. Copies of Nolo Press books are available both for reference use in the Library and for circulation. Search the Library online catalog, iBistro, for additional books on the law. Suggested subject headings include: Business Law, Consumer Protection—Law and Legislation, Child Support, Estate Planning, Emigration and Immigration Law, Patent Laws and Legislation, Real Estate Law, Tax Planning.  Ask the librarians for assistance. They are familiar with the collection and its resources and can facilitate your search.