Transcript Slide 1

The library’s research
resources for
postgraduate lawyers
at Oxford
Ruth Bird
September 2009
This is us
Welcome from all at the BLL
 At Oxford, computing is managed by
OUCS, and the library service by
OULS
 The Law Library is part of OULS but
we work closely with the law faculty
 You will probably use OULS services
daily, even if you rarely visit a
library, because as well as books, we
provide the e-resources
OULS is a big library system….
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Over 500 staff
Nearly 40 libraries
A budget of over £30million
10 million volumes
30,000+ e-journals
800+ databases
 And there are another 60 plus libraries in
colleges, university departments, and nonaffiliated bodies in Oxford!
The Bodleian Law Library (BLL)
 One of the largest UK law libraries
 5200 sq metres across 4 floors
 430,000 vols on 17km of shelving
 Over 70 specialist law databases
 Over 25 staff
able to assist
you
Other libraries to note…
The Bodleian in Broad Street
Social Sciences Library – next door..
Rhodes House in Parks Road
Official Papers in the Rad Cam
Philosophy in Merton St
Using the libraries
 Your University card gives you entry to OULS libraries
 The Law Bod does not lend books, but the SSL &
many other libraries do
 Stack books can be ordered to the BLL via the online
catalogue OLIS
 We are a copyright deposit library – we should have
everything published in the UK
 If we haven’t got it, an inter-library loan costs just
£4
 To access most databases you need your Single Sign
On (SSO) – register at OUCS
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/registration/oxford
Copying, printing, scanning
 Your copying card works in all OULS
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libraries; you need to purchase it first
time, then add value as needed.
The same card works for copying,
printing and for scanning.
The present system will change mid
year, and copying will be cheaper then
Write your name on the card
A lucky dip is available for
orphan copy cards – ask at the
library desk
Services we provide for postgrads
 Courses on research resources
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related to specific legal subject areas
Allocated research desks for research
postgrads
A separate reading room away from
undergrads for taught postgrads
A regular library newsletter
New journal issue display shelves
 One of the best collections of legal
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resources – in the last year we have
updated editions of core text books in over
100 jurisdictions!
A superb collection of legal databases with
extremely wide coverage
Knowledgeable and helpful reference
librarians
Great value added, authorised and
organised content on our website
Extended opening at the end of the
academic year for BCL/MJur exams
Some courses we offer …
 In Michaelmas term:
 Research tools for Competition law
 Tax
 EU law
 UN Docs
 Treaties
 Journal indexes
 US law
 Legal History
 Using Westlaw & Lexis
 Other courses are offered by OUCS &
OULS through WISER sessions
Law Library news
The main tools for locating resources
 SOLO – Search Oxford Libraries
Online
 Online catalogue - OLIS
 List of electronic journals – OU eJournals
 Guide to databases in ALL subject
areas – OxLIP+
Your e-gateway to legal resources
www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/law
What’s there?
Just a brief glimpse of the subscription
law databases…….
All South African Law Reports [P.WORD]
Factiva
Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International La
Antitrust & trade regulation report
Firstpoint
MyiLibrary
Nineteenth Century House of Commons Parliamen
Arbitration (Kluwer)
Foreign Law Guide
Beck Online
HeinOnline
Official Journal of the European Communities on C
Berkley Electronic Press
House of Commons Parliamentary Papers OGEMID Archive and Transnational Dispute Mana
Brill e-journals
IBFD (International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation)
Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History
Carilaw [P.WORD]
i-law - Lloyd's Law Reports
Oxford reports on international law
Caselex
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
Oxford Scholarship Online (OSO)
Casetrack
Index to Legal Periodicals
Oxford University e-Journals
Chinalaw
Index of Theses
PAIS International on Cambridge Scientific Abstrac
Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO)
Integrum
Quicklaw
Common Market Law Reports (on CD ROM)
Investment Claims
Recueil des Cours
Juris Classeur
Constitutions of the Countries of the World
Sabinet
Constitutions of Dependencies & Territories
Justcite
Singapore Legal Workbench
Current Legal Information
Justis
Social Science Citation Index on Web of Science
Dissertation Abstracts Online
Kluwer Arbitration > GUIDE
Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
Early English Books Online (EEBO)
Kluwer Competition Law
State Trials on Justis
Eastview Database of Russian Newspapers
Kluwer Law International Journals
Tax Analysts
LawAfrica
18thC British Official Parliamentary Publications Portal
1688-1834
Trade Unions in Western Europe since 1945
Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Lawtel
Transnational Dispute Management and OGEMID
Elections in Western Europe since 1815
Legal History, Oxford International Encyclopedia
vLex of
English Reports 1220-1865 (on CD ROM)
Lexis®Lbrary (formerly LexisNexis Butterworths)
Westlaw
European Sources Online
Linex Legal
WorldTradeLaw.net
Factiva
Making of Modern Law (MOML) Zetoc
Manupatra
Firstpoint
This is where you can access the legal databases
and this is where you can get help…
Highlights of the BLL website
 Our collections
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http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/law/collections
 E-resources
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http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/law/e-resources
 Some services
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http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/law/services
 Research Guides
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http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/law/guides
 Opening hours, etc..
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http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/law/about
The Law Bod Blog… http://lawbod.wordpress.com/
Features
include our
del.icio.us
list of great
legal
websites
and links to
our Twitter
and
Facebook
sites
Additional features of the blog…
The Tag Cloud
lists databases
which have
been written up
or otherwise
noted on the
blog
We’re on Facebook too
http://www.facebook.com/lawbod
And Twitter, of course..
Subscribe to the BLL New Book
feed on Library Thing!
Starting your research - some
basics to keep in mind …
Paper and internet are different; anyone
can publish on the net. Remember to
check:
 Scope
 Authority
 Objectivity
 Accuracy
 Timeliness
 Scope of coverage - the extent to
which a source explores a topic.
Consider time periods, jurisdiction
and coverage of related or narrower
topics
 Authority
- the expertise or
recognized official status of a
source, the reputation of the
author and publisher. When
working with legal or government
information, consider whether the
source is the official provider of the
information
 Objectivity
– be aware of the use
of persuasive language, the
source's presentation of other
viewpoints, it's reason for
providing the information and any
related advertising.
 Accuracy
of the editing and
publishing policy of the source. Is it
peer-reviewed? Does it fact-check
before publishing?
 Timeliness
– what are the
publication, creation and revision
dates? Beware of Web site scripting
that automatically reflects the
current day's date on a page
Organise your research material!
 Keep your references in order – from the
start with a list of sources consulted, so
that you can easily prepare a research
bibliography
 E-tools to help you organise the
references include:
Endnote (buy from OUCS)
 RefWorks, free to you, web based
 Zotero – free Firefox add on (but no good for
Westlaw/Lexis)
!Attend the courses run by Sandy, & by OUCS!
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And finally….
 Always save your work – on a USB key*, on
Google Docs, somewhere you can find it again!
 Remember a different way to search is via Google
Scholar
 “New lawyers, who for the most part have grown
up with the explosion of electronic information,
often miss relevant information because they lack
research skills. BUT if the proficiency of the 35+
generation was greater at the same stage in their
career, it is likely to be because the research
tools they used were fewer; and mostly, they
were tangible.
Information overload did not have the significant
and lasting impact it has today.”
*Your Law Bod USB key..
Happy law postgrads last year celebrating successfully
navigating the resources of the Law Bod