Friday, August 31, 2012

Westlaw Office Hours


Look for Westlaw Student Reps at the Westlaw table on the second floor adjacent to the Library entrance. Visit Koley Borchard kborchard14@law.du.edu, Christina Brown cbrown13@law.du.edu, or Collin Zundel czundel13@law.du.edu with Westlaw questions during the hours listed:

Koley Borchard kborchard14@law.du.edu:
    Tuesday          1:00pm – 4:00pm
    Thursday         1:00pm – 4:00pm

Christina Brown cbrown13@law.du.edu:
    Monday           11:45am – 1:15pm
    Wednesday     8:00am – 10:00am; 11:45am – 1:15pm

Collin Zundel czundel13@law.du.edu:
Monday           3:00pm – 6:00pm
Wednesday     3:00pm – 6:00pm 

  • Call 24-hour Westlaw Customer Service: 1-800-WESTLAW.
Written by Sheila Green, Reference Librarian

Monday, August 20, 2012

CIA World Fact Book

Have you been asked, or chosen, to write about a country you know very little about? Before you do significant in-depth research, it is generally helpful to begin with background material. You’ll want to find out  some basic information such as geographical information, the political and legal system, something about it’s economy, and, possibly, any significant transnational issues.

One of the primary places to obtain this information is The CIA World Fact Book. The online access provides information on all of these topics and more.  Information on issues such as the language(s) spoken, population,  and religion(s) can be found under the People and Society link drop down.  Mortality rates, drinking water sources, and other health related information can also be located here.

As with any website or other resource, you’ll want to verify the date the material was last updated, and ‘consider the source’ – what isn’t there? Is there a bias to the information? The CIA World Fact Book online is a great place to begin!
Written by Joan Policastri, Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Oil & Gas Research

Domestic oil and gas law is the main focus of Oil and Gas Law: A Legal Research Guide   by Lauren E. Schroeder at Law-Level 3 KF1849 .S37 2012. Schroeder also covers international oil and gas sources and oil pollution.

Check the Table of Contents for the following:  
  • Primary Sources: Federal, state, cases, and specialized case reporters.
  • Secondary Sources: Nutshells, dictionaries, hornbooks, periodicals, institutes, continuing legal education (CLE) materials, and treatises.
  • Online Sources: Subscription databases and free Internet sources.
  • International Oil and Gas Law: Organizations, secondary sources, industry associations, and online sources.
  • Researching Oil Spills and Oil Pollution: Primary sources, secondary sources, websites, and conferences.
  • Appendix I. Library of Congress Subject Headings for additional oil and gas research in online library catalogs.
  • Appendix II.  Shale deposits in the United States.
This guide is recommended for oil and gas practitioners, lawyers who are new to this specialty, law librarians, law school faculty teaching in this area, and students.

Written by Sheila Green, Reference Librarian

Friday, August 3, 2012

Westlaw By Credit Card to Cease

Westlaw has recently announced that it will discontinue its “Westlaw By Credit Card” service as of August 31, 2012. Presently, this document retrieval service allows users to access to materials on Westlaw, including state and federal case law, statutes, and appellate briefs, with the use of a credit card. It also provides access to KeyCite, West’s citation research service. After August 31, 2012, users will have to have a Westlaw subscription in order to access Westlaw and charges will be billed to the user’s Westlaw account. LexisNexis previously discontinued its “LexisNexis by Credit Card” website.

The Westminster Law Library continues to provide access to a limited public Westlaw service through two public-access computer terminals on the third floor. We also provide public access to the LexisNexis Academic database from public-access computer terminals on any floor. Unfortunately, no remote access is available. Please ask library staff for any needed assistance accessing these services.

Written by Brian Shoemaker, DU LIS Student