Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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ANN ARBOR, MI - This stunning architectural masterpiece looks like something you'd see at Hogwarts, but it's actually a real place you can visit.

College Rank listed it as "the most amazing college library in the country."

We're taking you on a tour of the University of Michigan's William W. Cook Legal Research Library.

And don't miss the corbel wall stone carvings (at the bottom) and where they're located so you can see them firsthand.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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The library, which opened in 1931, is located at 801 Monroe St. in Ann Arbor.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

Some of the stained glass windows are being rehabbed and cleaned. They are scheduled to reinstalled by the end of August.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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This is the space most people never forget when they step foot into it. This is the 10-story Reading Room.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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The elegant stained glass windows stand out in this huge room.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

You'll notice the images on the windows.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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There are 182 of them. Each is a seal of a prestigious university from around the world.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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Among the seals are: Harvard, Yale, Brown, Howard, University College Oxford, University of Edinburgh, Trinity Hall Cambridge and Carnegie Mellon.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

You'll also find the seals of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Kalamazoo College.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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William W. Cook, a Hillsdale native and 1882 law graduate at U-M, not only built and donated the Law Library ...

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... but the entire Law Quad.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

The four Gothic-style buildings which form the Law Quadrangle are the Lawyers Club (residential), the Allan F. and Alene Smith Library, Hutchins Hall (classrooms) and the Law Library.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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Cook, who died in 1930, one year before the Law Building's opening, did not want his name on any of the buildings.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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But, since he was no longer alive to object, the Board of Regents named this building, and the entire Law Quadrangle, after him.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

The U-M Law Department was founded in 1859.

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It graduated its first class in 1860. It didn't have its own building until 1863.

The first Law Library in 1859 was a room in the old South Wing of University Hall.

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In 1863, the Law Library moved into the new Law Building (later renamed Haven Hall) near the corner of State Street and N. University Avenue, where it remained until 1931.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

As ofJuly 1, 2015, the Law Library's collection held 1,036,578 volumes in print and 517,968 digital titles, according to Barbara Garavaglia, the library's director.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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The collection includes rare law books. The oldest is a first edition of Johannes Nider's De contractibus mercatorum, circa 1468.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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The Law Library is a total of 13 floors.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

Along with three underground floors, there are 10 floors of closed legal research stacks behind the Reading Room.

Those books can be read upon request.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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Garavaglia says the Law Library's collection includes foreign and comparative law.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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It also includes tomes on public and private international law, collections on the legal status of Native Americans and other indigenous peoples.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

It has books on pre-Soviet Russia, early American session laws and court reports, current and superseded annotated statutes for all U.S. states and the federal government, and Roman law.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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"We collect books for the laws themselves for all countries of the world in the language of the country as well as international law, foreign law and law between relations of countries," said Garavaglia.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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Degrees at the U-M Law School include an LLM (master's) and the school's most advanced degree, the SJD (Doctor of Juridical Science).

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

"It’s a very collegial atmosphere. Very friendly. Excellent professors. You're going to get an excellent legal education with professors who are experts in the field," added Garavaglia.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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"The law school has more than 10 law clinics. Students actually get to represent clients. They’re going to be getting an amazing legal education.”

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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Another cool feature to look for are corbels in the Law Quadrangle's architecture, located in the three walkways between South University and the Quad.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

Just look up and you'll see numerous corbels carved in the stone like this one representing Henry Philip Tappan who was elected the first President of U-M in 1852.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

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Corbel of University President James Burrill Angell. He was the longest serving U-M president from 1871 to 1909.

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Corbel of University President Marion Leroy Burton, who was elected in 1920 and served five years until his death at age 50.

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Corbel of University President Henry Burns Hutchins, the fourth U-M President from 1909 - 1920.

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Corbel of University President Henry Simmons Frieze. He served three separate times as acting president, first in 1869.

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Corbel of University President Erastus O. Haven, who became the second president of U-M in 1863. He served for six years.

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Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

William W. Cook Legal Research Library Hours:

Daily: 8:00 a.m. - 10 p.m. (Summer)

Daily: 8:00 a.m. - Midnight (Fall, Winter & Spring - Reading Room open until 2:00 a.m.)

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