The Law Library began as a department within the State Library in 1951 (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 9-195 (1957)). Although technically, legal materials were being collected as far back as 1871 when the Territorial Library was created, the State Library housed and controlled all aspects of the law library. The law library remained under the State Library’s direction for almost 30 years until March 5, 1980, when the law library was separated from the State Library and officially named the State Law Library (1980 Wyo. Sess. Laws 27). This separation resulted from House Bill 115, sponsored by Representative Walter Urbigkit, who later became Justice Urbigkit. Upon passage of the bill, the law library department was removed from the control of the State Librarian and placed under the supervision of the Wyoming Supreme Court (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 5-2-501 (1980)).

Today, the State Law Library remains under the administration of the Wyoming Supreme Court and expenditures incurred by the Law Library are under the direct supervision of the justices of the Supreme Court (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 5-2-501 (2015)).