The initiative to establish the first Dolj Bar library belonged to M.T. Stătescu, dean during the period 1876-1878, whose example to donate books for this purpose was followed by several lawyers, among which D.I. Anastasescu, Anghel Betolian, G.N. Peșicu. In 1877, an important donation of books is done by Constantin Bengescu, counsellor at Craiova Court of Appeals.

 In 1883, following the efforts of Gr. I Columbeanu, General Prosecutor of Craiova Court of Appeals and lawyer, and having as basis the book fund developed through the benevolence of Dean Stătescu, a legal library was established, following an effort which took over four years. The document signed in May 1887 confirms its goal, that is to be useful for the magistrates of Craiova Court of Appeals, as well as for Dolj Bar lawyers, the library management being entrusted to a mixed committee made up of the two presidents and General Prosecutor of Craiova Court of Appeals, as well as the Dean of Dolj Bar together with the two members of the Discipline Committee. It is important to mention two donations which substantially increased the book fund, the first done in 1890 by Aristia Aman in memory of her husband, Alexandru Aman, former first president of Craiova Court of Appeals, and the second of Prince Grigorie M. Sturza in memory of the trial from Craiova Court of Appeals between him and his brothers regarding the legacy after their dead father, Mihail Sturdza, prince of Moldavia between April 1834 and June 1849.

Dean Dem. D Stoenescu gives increased attention to the library, the course of its history entering into a new phase when, in 1923 Bar Council took the decision to establish its own library; this was inaugurated on 18 October 1925. In 1927, the library of Dimitrie Alexandresco, professor and lawyer in Iași, was bought by Dolj Bar Association from his inheritors by paying the amount of Lei 600,000. To this were added in time the libraries inherited by dean Dem. D. Stoenescu himself following his death in 1934 and by the lawyer Iulian C. Vrăbiescu, former prefect and member of the Parliament.

At the beginning of the dean mandate of I.B. Georgescu, the library, with approximately 10,000 volumes was located in an inadequate space, reason for which actions were taken for moving it in three rooms in the new wing of the Justice Palace. On 21 December 1940 a new location of the library was inaugurated, when Dean I.B. Georgescu gave a speech regarding its history and richness, mentioning the actions taken regarding drafting a regulation, assessment of the book fund and drafting a catalogue for each room.

Following the Second World War and frequent changes of Bar's headquarters, the archives and the book fund suffered, the storage conditions not being the best ones. It is certain that after moving the bar from 11 Mihai Viteazul street to the current location from Calea București, at the corner of Carol I Boulevard, the recovery of the library was attempted.

The recovery project made sense in the past years following the actions taken by Dean Ion Turculeanu and supported by Bar Council, materialized in the purchase of new furniture and by approval during the meeting of 16 October 2014 of proposals regarding the elaboration of an assessment and digital system catalogue by specialized persons, operations which we shall be finalized in the same time with the purchase of an important new book fund, sufficient reasons in  order to reopen it for the lawyers, as well as for the interested legal counsellors.

Dean

Lucian Bernd Săuleanu

Lawyer