CLR: New Member Orientation
Library Guides
The library has numerous guides in many areas of the law and legal research.
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library.htm | Research Guides
This guide can be located at:
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/students.html
LawCat
The Law Library online catalog — http://lawcat.berkeley.edu/
This is the first place to start to locate books and journals on a particular topic.
Example:
Keyword search for electronic mail monitor*
Note the subject headings assigned to the resulting titles:
Privacy, Right of
Electronic mail messages
Data protection
Example:
Choose Search LawCat by Keyword:
All Keyword Fields: patents and
Location: Patron Services
Access to Law Reviews: LegalTrac, Index to Legal Periodicals, HeinOnline
A complete listing of law journal databases is maintained on the library's site:
Library Home | Research | Finding Books and Articles | Law Journal Databases
Searching a legal index such as LegalTrac or the Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (both also available on Lexis and Westlaw as the Legal Resource Index and Index to Legal Periodicals) is an excellent way to locate law review articles.
- Controlled vocabulary for more precise and effective searching
- Material from different and earlier publications (e.g., Index to Legal Periodicals retrospetive database covering 1918 -1981)
- Recent inclusion of full-text documents as well as index records
Provides full text of many legal journals, with coverage extending back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries for many of these journals (not the case in Lexis or Westlaw). Hein is continually enhancing the database to include more recent volumes (albeit with a moving wall precluding access to many of the latest issues) and more journals. It also now includes the Federal Register from 1936 to the current year. LawCat includes links to all journals in HeinOnline from their catalog records.
Other Databases
The library's most used database can be located in the drop down menu of "top databases" on our opening page.
The full list of databases is located at:
Library Home | Research | Databases
or directly
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/online.php?node=online
Of particular note:
Bureau of National Affairs (BNA): http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library.htm | Research | Databases | BNA
Also,being part of a larger campus gives us access to an enormous number of subject-specific resources. See
Library Home | Databases | Finding the Right Resource (right menu)
Federal Legislative History
The Law Library's legislative history resources in general are at:
Library Home | Research | Federal Research | Legislative
or directly
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/online.php?node=6
Of particular use is our own Research Guide on Legislative History
The main source for legislative history research is Lexis Nexis Congressional.
Administrative Law Resources
The Law Library's administrative law resources in general are at:Library Home | Research | Federal Research | Executive
or directly
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/dynamic/online.php?node=7
State Surveys
50-State Legislative Tracking
A topical, alphabetical listing of legislative and statutory databases, compilations and state charts/maps. Provided by The National Conference of State Legislatures.
Subject Compilations of State Laws (Hein Online)
Lists surveys of state laws published since 1979 in articles, books, websites and other sources. Works are listed by topic, with a brief annotation describing coverage, depth and other details. You can browse the subject headings or search for keywords in annotations.
Westlaw - 50 State Surveys (SURVEYS)
Legal > States Legal - U.S. > Combined States > Find Statutes & Legislative Materials > LexisNexis 50 State Surveys, Legislation & Regulations
International and Foreign Legal Research
The best introduction to International and Foreign research is our own research guide
Library Home | Research Guides | Intro to International and Foreign Legal Research
If you are working on a project in this area you should also consider setting up an appointment to meet with Marci Hoffman, International and Foreign Law Librarian: mhoffman@law.berkeley.edu
Access to Subscription Databases
It is important to configure your browser for the campus proxy server in order to access subscription resources from off-campus. If you are a UC Berkeley student info is at:
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/offCampus.html
