Serials are materials that are published on a continuing basis such as court decisions, periodicals, American Law Reports (A.L.R.), statutes, encyclopedias, digests, citators--nearly everything in our library except treatises.

 

Determining which serials are in the law library

    To locate our library’s serials, check the online catalog, Legalferret (http://lawferret.uwyo.edu).  For each title our holdings will appear in the Description field. If you see V1 (1974-), that indicates we have everything beginning with volume one.           Serials can be difficult to locate within the library. Some serial title records have a shelf location indicator. These codes indicate the floor (M=Main, B=Basement and S=Second), the direction (E=East, W=West, S=South and N=North) and the range number where the item is located. The United States Reports location code, for example, is M-S-1. This means these reporters are on the Main floor, South side of the room, beginning on range 1.

  Our largest serial collection, law reviews and periodicals, is shelved on the second floor.  It is arranged alphabetically by title.  Other large sets of serials, like reporters, digests, and statutes are shelved in the Reference area.  In all cases, the shelving units are labeled with the location codes found in the library’s computer system.

 

Serials indexes

    Each category of serials will have its own index. Encyclopedias, A.L.R.’s and state and federal statutes have index volumes at the end of their sets. Cases are indexed in digests. (See Case Law Research handout for instructions on use.)

 

Electronic full-text sources

    Most library users opt to search periodical literature through electronic resources. The full text of some articles in legal periodicals is included on WESTLAW and LEXIS. These databases allow title, keyword, and subject access. Our contract with Westlaw allows access for law students and faculty only. However, LexisNexis is available to all UW users through the main library’s catalog. From Legalferret, select UW Libraries Homepage- Articles and Databases - LexisNexis Academic.  Make sure you select the Legal tab is you are looking for law review articles.

   Hein Online, available from the Legalferret Articles and Reference Materials button, also has a full-text historical collection of hundreds of law review titles. Once in the database, click on the Subscribers link. Then select the link for Law Journal Library. This brings up a directory of the available titles. By clicking the Search button near the top of the screen, you can perform a subject search. Results can be printed or emailed.

 

Periodical article indexes

    Paper indexes are located on the second floor just off the elevator. The Index to Legal Periodicals indexes articles from 1908 to date. About 500 periodicals are included. A list of subject headings is at the beginning of the bound volumes. Current Law Index indexes about 700 periodicals from 1980 to date. Library of Congress subject headings are used. These paper indexes are cumulated monthly and annually.

    LegalTrac is available on Legalferret, our library online catalog, from the Articles and Reference Materials button. It is an electronic version of Current Law Index. In addition to law review articles, LegalTrac indexes legal newspapers and some law-related articles in popular magazines.

    For the most part, these indexes are not full-text. They direct users to articles within law reviews and periodicals. To locate the article itself, users must determine whether the library owns the title and identify the shelf locations. Selected articles on Legaltrac now have links to Westlaw and Lexis for full-text retrieval.
 

Unavailable items

    If an item is checked out or otherwise unavailable, talk with circulation staff. They may be able to retrieve the item or borrow it for you through Interlibrary Loan.

 

01/08