Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Secondary Sources: Top Ten, Susan Drisko Zago

Law Faculty Scholarship

Secondary sources are a legal researcher's best friend. They are a great place to begin researching a new topic as they provide a framework for understanding the subject. Not only will a good secondary source provide researchers with a way of approaching the topic, but it will also introduce beginning researchers to the language of the subject. Secondary sources also contain expert analysis, references to primary law such as cases, statutes, and regulations, and will also include such other resources as governmental reports, statistics, and other secondary sources. While secondary sources are an incredibly valuable research tool, they can offer …

Why Print And Electronic Resources Are Essential To The Academic Law Library, Michelle M. Wu

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Libraries have supported multiple formats for decades, from paper and microforms to audiovisual tapes and CDs. However, the newest medium, digital transmission, has presented a wider scope of challenges and caused library patrons to question the established and recognized multiformat library. Within the many questions posed, two distinct ones echo repeatedly. The first doubts the need to sustain print in an increasingly digital world, and the second warns of the dangers of relying on a still-developing technology. This article examines both of these positions and concludes that abandoning either format would translate into a failure of service to patrons, both …

Assessing The Influence Of Computer-Assisted Legal Research: A Study Of California Supreme Court Opinions, Paul Hellyer

Library Staff Publications

Mr. Hellyer reviews the literature regarding CALR and identifies several hypotheses regarding quantitative differences in the results of print-based research and CALR. He then analyzes California Supreme Court opinions to determine CALR's effect on the quantity, recency, and types of legal authority cited by the court. The data fail to support the commentator's hypotheses.

On Not Doing Research, Mary Whisner

Librarians' Articles

Even though her usual business is "looking up," Ms. Whisner explores a variety of situations in which it is professionally appropriate not to engage in research.

Book Review Of The Process Of Legal Research, 6th Ed., Paul Hellyer

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Microfiche Checking And Refilming At The University Of Michigan Law Library, Kincaid C. Brown

Law Librarian Scholarship

In an effort to combat this loss of important legal information, UMLL instituted a fiche-checking process where, to the best of our ability, we check the fiche not just for bibliographic accuracy, but also for readability, cut-off text, and omissions. When we discover problems, we ask the publisher to refilm the problematic volumes, offering UMLL paper volumes for the job. The following is the process UMLL has instituted wherein we try to discover and remedy problems with purchased microfiche.

Institutions Of Learning Or Havens For Illegal Activities: How The Supreme Court Views Libraries, 25 N. Ill. U. L. Rev. 1 (2004), Raizel Liebler

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

The role of libraries in American society is varied: libraries act as curators and repositories of American culture's recorded knowledge, as places to communicate with others, and as sources where one can gain information from books, magazines and other printed materials, as well as audio-video materials and the Internet. Courts in the United States have called libraries "the quintessential locus of the receipt of information, "'places that are "dedicated to quiet, to knowledge, and to beauty," and "a mighty resource in the free marketplace of ideas." These positive views of libraries are often in sharp contrast with views by some …

Leaky Boundaries And The Decline Of The Autonomous Law School Library, James G. Milles

Journal Articles

Academic law librarians have long insisted on the value of autonomy from the university library system, usually basing their arguments on strict adherence to ABA standards. However, law librarians have failed to construct an explicit and consistent definition of autonomy. Lacking such a definition, they have tended to rely on an outmoded Langdellian view of the law as a closed system. This view has long been discredited, as approaches such as law and economics and sociolegal research have become mainstream, and courts increasingly resort to nonlegal sources of information. Blind attachment to autonomy as a goal rather than a means …

Negotiating And Analyzing Electronic License Agreements, Duncan E. Alford

Faculty Publications

Mr Alford analyzes license agreements for electronic resources and suggests certain negotiation points to consider when entering into such an agreement. He begins by describing the results of a survey of law librarians about their preparation for and techniques used when negotiating electronic license agreements and the legal strategies used by publishers to support the licensing of electronic information. After reviewing selected principles of licensing issued by library associations and several standardized electronic license agreements, he identifies provisions in a typical agreement that should concern libraries and suggests certain arguments to use in negotiating terms more favorable to the library.

Building A Foreign Law Collection At The University Of Michigan Law Library, 1910-1960, Margaret A. Leary

Articles

Ms. Leary describes the vision, energy, imagination, and techniques of the dedicated people who built an eminent foreign law collection at the University of Michigan Law Library. She also uses Michigan as an example to illustrate the development of libraries and librarianship nationally.

How Many Copies Are Enough? Using Citation Studies To Limit Journal Holdings, Kincaid C. Brown

Law Librarian Scholarship

Mr. Brown introduces the University of Michigan Law Library’s use of citation study literature to develop a new policy regarding the number of duplicate copies of law review titles to be held in the library’s collection. The specifics of the new policy are described

Book Review. Teaching Legal Research And Providing Access To Electronic Resources (Gary L. Hill, Et. Al., Eds.), Peter A. Hook

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Introduction To "Books", Margaret A. Leary

Articles

It's well known that graduate William B. Cook's generosity provided the Law School with its trademark Gothic Law Quadrangle. It is less universally known that Cook endowed the Law School with a trust to support faculty research, and had a strong interest in the nature of that research. He chose to call the library building "Legal Research" and to inscribe above the main entrance "Learned and cultured lawyers are safeguards of the republic." Cook often said that the lack of "intellectual leadership 1s the greatest problem which faces America," and he wanted this Law School to provide that missing leadership. …

Finding Out What They Want To Know, Mary Whisner

Librarians' Articles

A skilled reference librarian knows more than simply where and how to look up information. Recognizing the importance of knowing what to look for as well, Ms. Whisner discusses the venerable reference interview and its role in this key aspect of patron services.

Journals Of The Century In Law, Christopher Byrne

Library Staff Publications

In this essay I will humbly add my contribution to this vast literature by ranking the twentieth century's best law journals. I am not treading upon virgin ground. Over the past twenty years a number of scholars have ranked law reviews and journals using a variety of methodologies.

What Law Librarians Collect, Penny Hazelton

Articles

No abstract provided.

Digital Legal Information: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?, Claire M. Germain

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Digests Of Pennsylvania, Joel Fishman

Law Faculty Publications

Published case law in Pennsylvania dates from the colonial period and constitutes one of the largest collections of court decisions in American law. Digests have long stood as an important tool for those conducting research in this material, with the first appearing not long after the cases themselves. Mr. Fishman helps to document the history of Pennsylvania digests by reviewing their publication, beginning with the early nineteenth century to the present. A bibliography is appended.

Internet For Legal Information - The U.S. Experience, Claire M. Germain, Pat Court, Jean Wenger, Scott Childs

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

What's On The Horizon?: A Report From The 1996 Conference For Law School Computing, Juliet Casper Smith

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Review Of Hibbitts' Last Writes?, I. Trotter Hardy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Reports Of The Supreme Court Of Pennsylvania, Joel Fishman

Law Faculty Publications

The history of court reporting in Pennsylvania dates from the early days of the Republic and the establishment of Pennsylvania as a Commonwealth. Mr. Fishman helps to document that history by reviewing the publication of the reports of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from the early nominative reports of the mid-eighteenth century to the present. A bibliography is appended.

The Top Fives: An Internet Pathfinder For Law Librarians, Yolanda Patrice Jones

Journal Publications

Many law librarians are currently beginning to explore the Internet as a source of legal information. One of the most frequently asked questions after one gets an Interet connection is "Where do I go from here?" The following pathfinder is a list of what I consider to be the most important resources which will lead the legal researcher to the widest possible amount of legal information on the Internet. This list is purely subjective, and certainly not complete. I tried to stick to the 'top five' format as much as possible, but every so often I couldn't help myself from …

The Top Fives: An Internet Pathfinder For Law Librarians, Yolanda Patrice Jones

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Many law librarians are currently beginning to explore the Internet as a source of legal information. One of the most frequently asked questions after one gets an Internet connection is "Where do I go from here?" The following pathfinder is a list of what I consider to be the most important resources which will lead the legal researcher to the widest possible amount of legal information on the Internet.

This list is purely subjective, and certainly not complete. I tried to stick to the 'top five' format as much as possible, but every so often I couldn't help myself from …

The History Of Statutory Compilations In Pennsylvania, Joel Fishman

Law Faculty Publications

Pennsylvania was the last state in the country to codify its statutes. Mr. Fishman reviews the various editions of unofficial compilations of Pennsylvania laws that have been published from the early eighteenth century to the present. A bibliography is appended.

Catalogue Of Modem Law Books, 1855, Joel Fishman

Law Faculty Publications

In his recent work on A History of American Law Publishing (1990), Professor Erwin Surrency emphasized the need to learn more about how lawyers purchased books in nineteenth-century America, especially since few book catalogs have survived to the present day.¹ A random searching of older periodicals located in my library drew my attention to the "Catalogue of Modem Law-Books," consisting of three parts.

The Scholar's Workstation Now A Reality! Enhancing Faculty Information Access And Delivery, Claire M. Germain

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Of Legislative Histories And Librarians, Stephen G. Margeton

Scholarly Articles

Professor Margeton outlines the history of federal legislative history research, tracing the achievements of Washington, D.C., area law librarians and the Law Librarians' Society of the District of Columbia in compiling legislative histories, creating cooperative programs, and improving access to congressional materials.

The Case Of The Disappearing Briefs: A Study In Preservation Strategy, Margaret A. Leary

Articles

Federal appellate court records and briefs are significant to researchers in many disciplines, but academic law libraries are discarding them. Ms. Leary chronicles the demise of paper holdings in law libraries, the rise of microforms, and the contents and usage of the National Archives and Records Administration's files. She then derives principles for preservation strategies that may apply to other categories of legal material.

The Effectiveness Of Law School Legal Research Training Programs, Joan S. Howland, Nancy J. Lewis

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.