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Archive for the ‘Research Delaware’ Category

LexisNexis Congressional Now ProQuest Congressional

April 6th, 2011 No comments

ProQuestHeaderLogoOne of my favorite sources for congressional and legislative history research LexisNexis Congressional, has been been sold to ProQuest and will now be know as ProQuest Congressional. So far there have been no changes to the product except for the name but a press release from ProQuest implies that major change to the platform will be coming.

Congressional Research Services Reports

April 5th, 2011 No comments

logo_crsCRS Reports

The Congressional Research Service is a group of researchers who produce research reports for Congress. The research reports they produce can be very useful and informative. Some of the topics they cover can be helpful for law school research. They do not easily make their reports available to the public however, which has caused some controversy. One early WikiLeaks release was of 6,780 CRS reports.

Open CRS

Fortunately for researchers many CRS reports are freely available and easy to search at Open CRS. Some sample law related CRS reports are: Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues, Compulsory DNA Collection: A Fourth Amendment Analysis, and Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 – 2010: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President.

Statistical Abstract to be Eliminated

April 1st, 2011 No comments

statabstractInformation Today reports that the latest Census Bureau budget calls for the elimination of several publications including the popular Statistical Abstract.  The Census Bureau apparently feels that the Statistical Abstract only contains data that is found elsewhere on the internet so it should be canceled.

“Save the Statistical Abstract” awareness programs have sprung up, including one from the American Library Association

I often use the Statistical Abstract as a starting place when I’m not sure which federal agency would have the statistics I need. It’s a convenient one stop shop for statistics of all sorts.

So check out the Statistical Abstract online while it still exists. We even have the paper version in the library.

Legal apps for smart phones and iPads

March 30th, 2011 No comments

Here is a quick run down of some of the legal apps available for your smart phone. Most are iPhone/iPad apps but there are some apps for Android phones. Just a disclaimer, I haven’t had a chance to try all of these out. If you have any other suggestions let me know in the comments.

Free (or partly free) apps

LexisNexis Get Cases & Shepardize – Look up cases and Shepardize on your iPhone. The app is free but you need a LexisNexis password to get a case and shepardize.

Real Time Congress – Get updates from the US House and Senate.

PocketJustice – Recordings and transcripts of Supreme Court oral argument plus summaries of cases. The top 100 cases are free, the full version (600+ constitutional law cases) is $4.99. Also available for Android.

Nolo’s Plain English Law Dictionary – A free legal dictionary. It’s aimed at non-lawyers but could also be useful for law students.

ABA Journal – Get legal news from the ABA Journal on your iPhone or iPad.

Apps for a Fee

Black’s Law Dictionary – The standard legal dictionary now has an iPhone/iPad app version.

Law in a Flash and Sum and Substance – Two popular study guides  have an iPhone app version.

Prepare to Practice: Free Online Legal Resources and Research Tips

March 22nd, 2011 No comments

Prepare to Practice: Free Online Legal Resources and Research Tips for New Associates, Summer Associates, Interns, Clerks, Law and Paralegal Students

Thursday, April 14th at 12:15pm and again at 5:15pm in the Library’s Special Collections Room

The cost of subscription based legal information continues to rise as courts, firms and non-profits are looking for ways to cut costs. All legal professionals should be aware of the resources that are available for free online.

As part of the Legal Information Center’s National Library Week Celebration (April 10th – 16th), come learn about all of the free primary legal materials available online. We’ll cover Federal, State and Local legal resources available for free on the Internet as well as advanced searching techniques that will help you in “the real world.”

Note: This is an abridged version of the library’s popular CLE , Free and Low-Cost Online Legal Research. Presenters will be librarians Maggie Stewart Adams and Mary Alice Peeling. For more information contact Maggie Stewart Adams – mmstewart@widener.edu

Irish law sources

March 17th, 2011 No comments

Just a few links for a law related celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.

Researching Irish Law – from Harvard Law School

Irish Law Site at University College Cork

Guide to Irish Law

Library of Congress Global Legal Monitor – Ireland

HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated – Ireland

Finding Journals, Newspapers Easy with A to Z Electronic Journal List

February 10th, 2011 No comments

Imagine you need an article from Air and Space Lawyer or The Economist. You know Widener Law Library must have an online subscription to the journal but where to look. Is it on Lexis or Westlaw? Or maybe even EbscoHost? Just look the journal up in the A to Z list and you’ll find it in no time.

Type the title of the journal or newspaper you are looking for in the search box on the A to Z list. You’ll get a list of every database Widener subscribes to that has your journal.  Click on the name of the database you want to use and you’ll be taken directly to the journal.

There is a handy link to the A to Z list right on the main Widener Law Library web page. It’s right under Research Tools.

World Constitutions Illustrated

January 26th, 2011 No comments

HeinOnline‘s World Constitutions Illustrated was recently named one of the Outstanding Academic Titles of 2010 by Choice. World Constitutions Illustrated provides access to contemporary and historic constitutions from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, as well as law review articles and other scholarly commentary on the constitutions. HeinOnline can be accessed from the law library database page.

Other 2010 Outstanding Titles owned by the Widener law library are:

The Annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, ed. by Jack N. Rakove. Belknap, Harvard, 2009.

Changes in law and society during the Civil War and Reconstruction: a legal history documentary reader, ed. by Christian G. Samito. Southern Illinois, 2009.

Encyclopedia of human rights, ed. by David P. Forsythe. Oxford, 2009.

Johns, Adrian. Piracy: the intellectual property wars from Gutenberg to Gates. Chicago, 2009.

Shesol, Jeff. Supreme power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court. W.W. Norton, 2010

Drakeman, Donald L. Church, state, and original intent. Cambridge, 2010.

Epp, Charles R. Making rights real: activists, bureaucrats, and the creation of the legalistic state. Chicago, 2010

Gordon, Sarah Barringer. The spirit of the law: religious voices and the Constitution in modern America.

Mendelson, Richard. From demon to darling: a legal history of wine in America. California, 2009.

New Books about the Constitution and Bill of Rights

November 12th, 2010 No comments

This election year has seen many speeches and debates about the meaning of the U.S.Constitution and Bill of Rights. These titles on the Library’s New Book Shelf reflect the interest that Constitutional issues continue to generate:

A to Z List Makes Finding Online Journals Easy

November 12th, 2010 No comments

Under Databases on the Law Library’s homepage there is a link to the A to Z Electronic Journal List. By entering the title of a journal, you will be given links to wherever there is an electronic version, from Lexis and Westlaw to ProQuest or EBSCO to HeinOnline or the publisher’s own website. Law reviews, other academic journals, or popular magazines may be found through this database. Because of space limitations, many libraries, including Widener, now rely on electronic access to serial publications and keep only the past few years on their shelves, if they subscribe to the print version at all. Links to online journals can also be found in the Widener catalog, when the Library subscribes to either the print or electronic version.

Set Up Your Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Registration Now

November 11th, 2010 No comments

It is easy to establish an ILLiad (Interlibrary Loan Internet Accessible Database) account for use throughout the year. Through ILLiad, you
can submit requests for materials not found in our library 24 hours a day from any place that has Internet access, and you can track them from start to finish. To set up an account, start at the Library’s home page. Go to Library Services, click on Interlibrary Loan, and then click on Interlibrary Loan Form. Select Law Library — Delaware. Click on the button for First Time Users. Make sure you enter a Username and Password–-anything you like. Use these whenever you log on to request an ILL. Click on the Submit Information button at the bottom of the page. Make a note of your Username and Password, and you will not have to supply any other information when you want to make an ILL request. You’re in the system!

Sign Up for BNA News Services,Including U.S. Law Week

November 9th, 2010 No comments

The Full Database List accessible from the Law Library homepage begins with BNA Databases, the online versions of the trusted and prestigious Bureau of National Affairs reporting services.These services can be accessed on computers outside the library by following the prompt to enter your name and the 14-digit barcode number on the back of your student ID card. You can also sign up for free e-mail summaries of daily or weekly BNA services of your choice. There are over 120 services to choose from, dealing with a wide variety of legal topics. United States Law Week is a service that specializes in U.S.Supreme Court cases, tracking every case andanalyzing the significant ones. There are also summaries and analyses of other court decisions and circuit splits. Take advantage of free access to these costly services while you have a student ID barcode!