Secondary Source Research Using the Law Library’s Online Resources Bijal Shah Electronic Resources/Interlibrary Loan Librarian February 24, 2009

Discussion Points o Why use secondary sources? o Types of secondary sources o Tools to locate and access secondary sources

Why Use Secondary Sources? o Provide analysis and commentary written by law scholars, attorneys and judges o Help to locate and explain primary sources o Can be heavily footnoted o Can be used to provide background information on a new or unfamiliar topic o Introduces basic concepts and terminology, which can help you construct a better online search

Why Use Secondary Sources? o Keep in mind disadvantages o May oversimplify complicated concepts o May make the law appear more “static” than it really is

Types of Secondary Sources o Treatises o Can be single volume or multi-volume o Kept up to date with looseleaf updates or pocket parts o Irregular publication schedule o E.g. Immigration Law and Procedure – multi- volume looseleaf set o Journals o Current Awareness

Locating Treatises o USMAI online catalog o What is USMAI? o Search law library’s catalog or all USMAI libraries’ combined catalog o Lists titles at book level o Can search for journal titles, not articles o Some catalog records may contain chapter titles/authors as well o Can request books from other USMAI libraries o Need library bar code - needs to be updated every semester

Accessing the Catalog

Searching the Catalog

Searching the Catalog (Cont’d)

Interpreting a Catalog Record

Interpreting a Catalog Record (Cont’d)

Interpreting a Catalog Record - LCSH o Library of Congress Subject Headings o Comprise a thesaurus used by catalogers o Assigned to all bibliographic records o One bibliographic record may have several subject headings o Facilitate users’ access to titles related to a specific topic

Interpreting a Catalog Record – LCSH (Cont’d)

Doing a Multi-campus Catalog Search

Doing a Multi-campus Catalog Search (Cont’d)

Doing a Multi-Campus Catalog Search (Cont’d)

Requesting a Book via the Catalog

Requesting a Book via the Catalog (Cont’d)

Resources Available Beyond USMAI o WorldCat o Search for titles not available in USMAI o Accessible via library web site, under Virtual Reference Shelf => Research Databases o Need 14-digit library bar code to access from off-campus (applies to all of library’s subscription databases) o Request books via interlibrary loan

Accessing WorldCat

Accessing WorldCat (Cont’d)

Searching WorldCat

Searching WorldCat (Cont’d)

Other Methods of Placing ILL Requests o Online forms on library’s web site o Paper forms available near circulation desk

Searching for Journal Articles o Shouldn’t rely on LexisNexis/Westlaw alone o Have powerful search engines but coverage is lacking o LegalTrac and Index to Legal Periodicals - indexing/abstracting databases o Entries contain “editorial enhancements” o Editors assign descriptive words/phrases to articles which are access points into article o Access points make finding more articles on same topic easier

Searching for Journal Articles o LegalTrac - coverage begins with 1980; contains some full-text and abstracts o ILP Full-text o Indexing 1981+, Abstracting 1990+, “select” Full Text o ILP Retro – covers o Both LegalTrac and ILP are accessible via library web site, under Virtual Reference Shelf => Research Databases

Searching for Journal Articles (Cont’d) o HeinOnline o Accessible via library web site, under Virtual Reference Shelf => Research Databases o William S. Hein & Co. obtained permission from publishers of law reviews to scan content of journals o Documents are scanned PDFs o Easier to use if you have a citation already

Example of LegalTrac Entry

Example of ILP Full Text Entry

HeinOnline

HeinOnline (Cont’d)

Search Catalog for Journal Title

Search Catalog for Journal Title (Cont’d)

Searching Catalog for Journal Title (Cont’d)

Current Awareness Resources o Keep abreast of current issues and developments in specific areas of law o Helpful when trying to come up with a research paper topic o BNA alerts – “Highlights” o Subject specific o Have to sign up using an on-campus computer

Current Awareness Resources - BNA

BNA Alerts

Example of BNA Alert