Ross-Blakley Law Library Blog

Beth DiFelice, Assistant Director of the Ross-Blakley Law Library, will be giving a workshop next week on the most important legal research strategies you need to know before starting your legal position this summer or embarking on your career.

The hour-long workshop will be offered twice:
Tuesday, April 2nd: 12-15-1:15pm in Library 119
Wednesday, April 3rd: 3-4pm in Room 118

Have you signed up for your free Bloomberg Law student account yet?  If not, simply go to https://www.bloomberglaw.com/activate and enter your information – no activation code is needed as Bloomberg will authenticate your account with your @asu.edu e-mail address.

Bloomberg Law offers access to cases, statutes, and regulations, in addition to news, company and financial data, and docket searching.  Bloomberg Law also has all BNA and Practicing Law Institute (PLI) content available in its database, including treatises and BNA reports.

To learn more about using Bloomberg Law be sure to attend one of the student trainings … Continue Reading

Two new federal government websites are making it easier to find government information online.  One of the new websites is Congress.gov, which is in an initial beta version.  This website currently contains legislation from 2001 to the present and congressional member profiles from 1973 to the present.  Congress.gov will replace the Library of Congress’s THOMAS.gov website by the end of 2014 and will incorporate all of the information available on THOMAS.gov. You can read more about Congress.gov and THOMAS.gov here.

The other new website is eCFR.gov.  This website contains a current, … Continue Reading

We’ve mentioned it before – interested in learning more about Bloomberg Law?
 
Will Thompson, ASU’s Bloomberg BNA rep, will hold three training sessions next week on efficient searching using Bloomberg Law.  
 
If you’re interested in learning how to use this slick new legal research tool, pick a session below (lunch will be served!):
 

Date
Time
Location (Armstrong Hall)

Tuesday, October 2nd
12pm
Room 105

Wednesday, October 3rd
1:30pm
Room 116

Thursday, October 4th
12pm
Room 105

You can sign up for … Continue Reading

As promised in yesterday’s blog , “Beating the Bluebook Blues,” today we’ll be sharing some tips on how to keep track of all your citations and some Bluebooking shortcuts.

When you’re writing a paper or doing a research project or assignment, it can be difficult to keep track of all the resources you may want to cite.
Have you ever:

• Realized you read the exact thing you needed several days ago, but then can’t find it again?
• Gotten to the end of writing a paper and remember you still have to do a works cited/bibliography?
• Wish there was a way to have all … Continue Reading
  

We think the Georgetown Law Library says it best:
 “Few books cause law students as much dread, pain, anger and frustration as the Bluebook.”
If you don’t have a personal copy of the Bluebook, we have extra copies at the front desk that you can borrow. Or if you prefer electronic format, the Bluebook is also available online, and most recently in an app for iPhone and iPad.

We know that 500 pages of citation rules are not easy to master. Fortunately there are lots of resources in the Law Library to help! Such as:

• … Continue Reading
  

Having difficulty choosing a topic for the seminar paper you will be writing this semester?  Then check out the new How to Choose a Paper Topic research guide on the Law Library’s website.  The guide is designed for law students who are writing a substantive legal research paper and are looking for guidance on how to begin. It details sources for help in selecting a paper topic and offers insight in how to check whether your paper will add new information to the field of law.

Need help with your legal research or guidance on navigating a library resource?  Then make an appointment with a librarian!  While you are always welcome to stop by the reference office during regular reference hours, the Ross-Blakley law librarians are also happy to schedule individual appointments that work with your schedule to provide one-on-one assistance.

Law students can request an appointment with a librarian by filling out the online form* (ASURITE ID required).  Please be sure to include information on your topic or assignment so we can prepare resources in advance of meeting … Continue Reading

An article in the June 2012 Michigan Law Review titled the Most-Cited Law Review Articles of All Time presents an updated study of the law review articles most often cited within other articles.  The author, Fred R. Shapiro, says of the 1985 study which this brings up to date, “Such a project falls somewhere between historiography and parlor game, and I will not claim any more significance for it than is warranted. It is my hope, however, that by listing these articles I will draw attention to writings that, by … Continue Reading

Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (LII) recently announced that the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is now available on its website.  The CFR is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government.

The LII website allows for searching of the CFR and includes linked cross-references within the CFR to relevant parts of the United States Code, as well as to rulemaking dockets for pending regulations.  It is updated concurrently with the GPO’s Federal Digital System data, and links users to the Office of … Continue Reading