- Slides – Collecting Sources 2012
- UCI Law Library – Source Collection Triage Guide
- UCI Law Library – Interlibrary Loans
- Connecting to Law-only databases – Law VPN Instructions
- Connecting to UCI-wide databases – UCI-wide VPN and Web VPN Instructions
- Journal Guidelines – PDF
Orientation – Class of 2015
Law Library tours and related Library orientation activities are the week of August 13 – 17. Here’s some useful information for 1Ls, transfers, and visiting students.
Course & study materials – a few places to start:
- Course Reserves Search – for textbooks and other readings that professors put on reserve.
- Study Aids – how to find them in ANTPAC.
- Audio Case Files from CVN.
- CALI online lessons – ask me for the code.
Books in print or online – two places to start:
- ANTPAC – for books and journals at UCI campus libraries, including the Law Library.
- Melvyl – for books, journals, and other resources at libraries all over the world — resources that you can borrow via ILL (Inter-library loan.)
Off-campus access to Law Library resources usually needs the VPN (Virtual Private Network.) Check VPN Instructions from UCI Law IT.
Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg Law questions can go to student representatives.
Hours for the Law Library are online.
Public Access to CRS Reports
“New Bill Would Open CRS Reports to Public” is a recent post over at Sunlight Foundation. It provides a bit of background on some recent legislation that would make these wonderful reports available to the public. Two issues spring to mind:
1) CRS reports are outstanding sources. CRS reports are: usually fairly brief (under 30 pages); written in plain English; meticulously researched; and heavily footnoted. If you are looking into a federal legislative history question or a public-policy issue that is of interest to Congress, you would be remiss if you didn’t check for a CRS Report. If you don’t find a report, noting that absence in your research log makes you look like you know what you’re doing, research-wise. And if you do find one, it’s guaranteed to clarify your issues and lead you to other sources.
UCI Students can search for CRS Reports in ProQuest Congressional.
2) Most CRS reports are not freely available. ProQuest Congressional does indeed include a comprehensive set of non-classified CRS reports. But this access is subscription-based — you’re out of luck if you’re not a member of the UCI community. The new bill would change that. So if you’ve found CRS reports valuable in the past, and if you’d support making them more widely available, this is a great time to contact your representative and let him or her know.
Get better at Google
“Power Searching with Google” is a series of six 50-minute online classes. It’s free, and it’s from Google.
You use Google, right? Of course you do. Why not see if the information pros at Google can show you how to do it better? See http://www.google.com/insidesearch/landing/powersearching.html
Computer Lab Updates
In order to make the Law Library Computer Lab more accessible, we’re making some small improvements this summer. Some computers have been updated with adaptive technology (both software and hardware.) These computers also have extra space between them to make it easier for service animals, wheelchairs, etc.
While all students are welcome to use any open space in the lab, students who don’t regularly use adaptive technology should be considerate of those who do.
Contact UCI Disability Services Center with questions about services for students with “orthopedic, visual, hearing, learning, chronic health and psychological disabilities.”
Flagrant Conduct
In The New York Times Book Review, the reviewer said
[It’s a] stirring and richly detailed account of Lawrence v. Texas, the momentous 2003 decision that overturned Bowers. [The author], who teaches at the University of Minnesota Law School, tells the story through the eyes of the major players — the plaintiffs, arresting officers, attorneys, judges and prosecutors — most of whom were interviewed at length. The result is a book that turns conventional wisdom about Lawrence on its head.
This new title is upstairs in the Reading Room at KF224.L39 C37
Check ANTPAC to see if it’s on the shelf.
Catch up with the world on the new Law Library iPad!
We’ve subscribed to The Economist, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal — on a space-saving iPad. So if you’d like to take a break from studying or doing research, wander over to the sofa near the stairs, on the Main level, and look for the iPad. You don’t need to check it out – just pick it up and start browsing.
In addition to subscribing to the titles above, we’ve also loaded a popular reader app called Flipboard. Use it to browse free web content from The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Newsweek, Forbes, Time, the Washington Post, and several other news sources.
Google Scholar for HeinOnline, JSTOR, etc.
Did you know that Google Scholar can show you articles* from subscription-only websites? It’s magical! (It’s also arguably better than the native search interfaces of many academic research systems.)
Unfortunately, you can’t tell exactly what you’re searching in Scholar. Their somewhat glib documentation is a bit vague. (Q: Which specific journals do you cover? A: Ahem, we index papers, not journals. . . .) But even with some important caveats, it’s a marvelous resource, with content from “most major academic publishers and repositories worldwide.” I hope you’ll give it a try this summer, especially if you’re concerned about keeping research costs low.
To set up Google Scholar to work with UCI library privileges, go to Settings > Library links.
Via the Google Scholar Blog – 5/11/2012
*Related: On finding cases in Scholar: Google Scholar’s enhanced citing references
More on electronic court documents
The US Courts announced today that they have finally completed their implementation of electronic case filing, with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit joining “every other federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy court… .” Hurray!
This is a great opportunity to remind law students and other researchers that electronic court documents are still a (relatively) recent thing. As we note in our Guide to Dockets and Pleadings:
[E]lectronic versions of filings are only available for most federal cases after 2003, though this date will vary court by court and by case type. For example, in the Southern District of New York, judges started using the electronic court filing system (ECFS) in 2004; but even today, not all filings are electronic because it is up to the parties to provide electronic documents.
So if you’re doing research that requires court documents, keep that early-aughts period in mind. A warning light should go off in your head if you hear anybody talking about with court documents that are older than (approximately) a decade. If you don’t already have the records, they’re likely only available in paper. Those paper case files for federal courts may be stored at the courthouse or at one of the Federal Records Centers, and you’ll need to contact the court in which the case was filed for more information. See Court Records, http://www.uscourts.gov/CourtRecords.aspx.
Congratulations to the Class of 2012!
Reminder to our new alumni: you can still use the Law Library, as well as many Library resources!
Until August 15, you are welcome to use the library and check out books, just as you did during school. After that date, you can come into the library and use the books and non-password-protected databases.
Password-protected systems have a variety of end dates for account access. For 2012 graduates, the default end dates are below. Contact the vendor representative if you have any questions about your account.
- BloombergLaw access ends Dec. 31, 2012.
- Lexis access ends June 28, 2012. (Sign up online to extend access until September.)
- Westlaw access ends May 31, 2012. Limited access (to “career databases”) ends May 31, 2013. (Sign up online to extend access — limited to 5 hours per month — until July 31, 2012.)