Faculty
New HeinOnline Resource Opens Door to World's Constitutions and More
HeinOnline now has available World Constitutions Illustrated: Contemporary & Historical Documents & Resources. World Constitutions Illustrated is now available as an a la carte library which introduces a brand new legal research platform that brings together constitutional documents, books…
Law Librarians Share Words of Wisdom with Graduating Class
I have worked here at the University of Kansas Wheat Law Library for just over three years. Technically, I, too, am a 3L. The first class I taught was the 2007 summer starters, but really that was a bit of a dry run. My true connection was with the fall starters, what was to be the Class of 2010.…
Library's Kagan Page Provides One-stop Shop for Information on the Supreme Court Nominee
The University of Michigan Law Library's informational Web page for the latest nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, was created May 10 by reference librarian Kincaid Brown within hours of the announcement. It is available here. The Web page includes biographical…
Happy Geek Pride Day from a Wheat Law librarian and self-proclaimed geek
My name is Blake, and I'm a geek. It's true. For those of you who know me, this comes as no surprise. But for those who don't, it's not a difficult conclusion to draw. I am a law librarian. Trading in the courtroom for the library is tantamount to trading in Atticus Finch for Rupert Giles. I let it…
Listbean Website Helps Users Organize Life's Little Details
When you prepare to study for class, get ready for vacation or create a budget, what's the first thing you do? If you answered, "make a list," then I have a website for you! It's called Listbean, and it's awesome! Unlike other list sites, it is completely free and jam-packed with pre-populated…
Law.gov Would Be Bold Experiment in One-stop Shopping For Legal Research
Have you heard about Law.gov? No? Well then, let me tell you! Law.gov is a proposed repository for legal materials, open-sourced and open to the public. Included would be all primary materials of the United States and international governmental bodies. Law.gov would be a portal for authoritative…
Bureau of Justice Statistics Website Makes Crime Stats Freely Available
In need of crime statistics and don't know where to look? Try the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics! The Bureau of Justice Statistics (B.J.S.) was first established on Dec. 27, 1979, under the Justice Systems Improvement Act of 1979. Their goal is to: "collect, analyze,…
Top 8 Misconceptions About Legal Research
I am in charge of the legal research instruction as part of the Lawyering Skills course. Over the past three years, I have heard (and read) several things students have said about legal research. Before we have a new batch of students start up this fall, I would like to go ahead and address these…
Wheat Law Library's Five Laws of the Law Library
Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (1892-1972) was considered the father of library science in India. He developed what has been widely accepted as the definitive statement of ideal library service. His "Five Laws of Library Science" (1931) is a classic of library science literature, as fresh today as…
National Library Week at the Wheat Law Library
National Library Week is observed this year from April 11 through April 17 with the theme "Communities thrive @ your library." The first sponsored National Library Week was in 1958, and the American Library Association (ALA) has continued this yearly celebration in April ever since. It's a great…