[updated July 6, 2009]

[This deals with information specifically for non-graduate law students. For information specific to graduate law students, click here.]

Circulation Supervisor:

• Purnima Chandra

Librarians:

• Mary Mitchell
• Sandra Wilkins
• Elim Wong

Administrative Details:

Library Card and Transit Pass
• Get your UBCcard from the UBC Bookstore’s Carding Office.
• The UBCcard functions as your Library card; you will need it to borrow books from any of the campus libraries and also for accessing Library resources such as the catalogue, electronic journals & databases, and Microsoft Office software.
• PIN – your default pin is the last 5 digits of your barcode – the first time you try to log on to a workstation, the system will ask you to change your PIN.
• Information about a number of library services, including loan periods for library materials, how to recall a book, overdue fines, and how to set-up e-mail notification is accessible from UBC Library webpages’ blue bar: under Services for You –> Undergraduates and scrolling down to Borrower Services.

Library Hours
• The Law Library is open 7 days a week.
• The hours for the Law Library and other campus libraries can be found from the Library’s homepage under BRANCHES. They are also posted at the entrance to the library, and in the library.

Library & IT Publications
• There are two plexiglas stands adjacent to the Law Library reference desk on the main floor.
• They hold a number of useful guides relating to legal research, general library policies, student brochure and services and UBC IT Services.

Overview of UBC Library Homepage:

Blue bar under “UBC Library” – provides links to information about the library, branch web pages, the catalogue, journals (print & electronic), e-Resources, and under Services for You, information tailored specifically for undergraduate students.

Note the quick drop-down menus, for additional links under the named links

The OneSearch feature is a quick way to enter a simple search. It generates links to results for books or other items in the catalogue; articles or papers; journal titles; Library website pages & general web pages.
N.B. – this is a basic-level search – for more precise, comprehensive results, be sure to use more focused resources such as the catalogue, or a particular journal index or database.

Catalogue:

There are 3 search screens: basic, guided keyword and course reserve.

At the bottom of each of the search screens, there is a Help section.

The Simple Search tab:
The default search is Keyword ranked by relevance (it links keywords using OR) and is generally not that helpful, as it finds too many “irrelevant” items.

The second keyword option uses boolean operators and is better for research, as your results are more precise.
Example: “sale of goods” and Canada

Use the Journal/Ejournal Title search box if you are looking for a particular journal title, such as the Harvard Law Review
• you can find where print copies are located
• you can find links to electronic copies (dates of coverage vary)

The Guided Keyword search allows you to search for specific terms in a number of different fields.
Example: irwin law (as a phrase in the publisher field) and criminal (in the title field)

Note:
• Once you find a book on your research topic, be sure to go to the full record. The record will give you a complete call number and indicate where the book is shelved.
• The full record of a book also lets you find more books on the topic, simply by clicking on the appropriate subject heading(s).

The UBC Library homepage has 4 main sections in the middle of the page:
• Find
• How to
• Subject Resources
• My Account

A feature to be aware of:
• under the Find section, note the term MetaLib adjacent to Articles/papers. MetaLib is an interface that allows simultaneous searching across a pre-selected number of databases, in a range of subject areas.
N.B. not all resources are supported by MetaLib, and in the law subject area a key periodical index is missing – the Index to Canadian Legal Periodical Literature

Library Layout – 3 floors
• the citation stand is an important resource

Overview of the Law Library Homepage:

Here are a few features of the Law Library Homepage:

• Interdisciplinary and News Indexes can be found under Subject Resources for Law

• Indexes to Legal Periodicals

• Commercial Databases:
• Legal Commercial Databases are accessible from the Law Library homepage.
• As a law student, you will have free access to a number of subscription Commercial Databases, e.g.: LexisNexis Quicklaw, Westlaw Canada, and CCH Online. See Elim Wong to register for passwords.
• Training sessions for LexisNexis Quicklaw, Westlaw Canada and other legal research refresher sessions are listed on the Law Library website – under “What’s New”, linking to the Blog announcement; please register online for these sessions.

• Legal Websites & Databases provides access to free legal websites including:
• Legislation & Government
• Case Law
• International Resources

• Interlibrary Loans

• Staff link

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• We’re here to help you succeed in your program, please ask for help whenever you need it – at the reference desk or make an appointment to see us about your research.

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TRIAL DATABASE

International Law in Domestic Courts (ILDC) – Trial ends April 18th, 2007

International Law in Domestic Courts (ILDC) is a case reporting service that covers the most important public international law issues being decided today in domestic courts around the world. Legal experts in the field cover over sixty countries, providing detailed analysis of the core legal issues, highlighting the most salient points of the case, and providing historical and legal context to understand the significance of the decision. Translations of key passages of non-English judgments appear alongside the full-text of the judgments in the original language. All are fully searchable. To access, please click here.

The UBC Library welcomes your opinion on electronic databases that we have set up for trial use. The purpose of this trial is exploratory so that we can gain a better understanding of this product and determine suitability. Your response will help us determine how to allocate our resources for future electronic purchases.

The cost is approximately $2000 a year, so we would like your feedback. Please tell us what you think using this form.

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NEW DATABASES

The following new electronic resources are newly subscribed components of the Justis database.

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UK Statutes (1925 – Present)

The UK Statutes database contains the full text of all Acts of Parliament in England, Wales and Scotland as enacted, from 1235 to the present day. UK Statutes is the only statute-law database to contain Scottish Acts of Parliament and repealed legislation.

Contents of Justis UK Statutes:
* Acts of Parliament (United Kingdom) 1707 to present
* Acts of Parliament (Scotland) 1999 to present
* Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2000
* Church Assembly and General Synod Measures 1920 to present
* Acts of Parliament (England) 1235 to 1706

For more information, click here.

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UK Statutory Instruments

Over 2,500 Statutory Instruments (SIs) are issued each year, adding to the tens of thousands that already exist. SIs set out detailed provisions under the authority of the enabling Acts of Parliament for *fine tuning* of legislation.

Contents of Justis UK Statutory Instruments:
* Statutory Instruments from 1949 to present
* Scottish Statutory Instruments
* Draft Statutory Instruments
* The legislation published in Statutory Rules & Orders and Statutory Instruments Revised to December 31, 1948, which was published by HMSO in 1950 and includes regulations dating back as far as 1671
* Statutory Rules and Orders issued prior to 1987

Statutory Instruments covering England, Wales and Scotland are included, incorporating tables, diagrams and maps where appropriate.

For more information, click here.

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English Reports

The English Reports is the oldest collection of the most authoritative, comprehensive law reports in publication. Over 100,000 of the most important cases reported between 1220 and 1873 are compiled into one collection.

The English Reports database is fully searchable and can be searched simultaneously with other Justis titles. The interface is very easy to use and enables the rapid retrieval of a specific report simply by entering its reference. All commonly used reference formats are recognized along with variations.

These reports are available as printable PDFs that replicate the pagination and appearance of the hard copies exactly.

The reports are cross-referenced and include extensive hypertext links between the reports themselves, and from the reports to UK Statutes. Cases in the English Reports are frequently cited in later series, so links to the reports have also been added to other Justis case law titles, such as The Law Reports.

For more information, click here.

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The Law Reports (1865 – Present)

The Law Reports is the most authoritative series of published reports of cases which constitute binding precedent in English Law. The database incorporates all earlier divisions of The Law Reports as well as the four modern divisions – the Court of Appeal, Chancery, Family and Queen's Bench Divisions. The Law Reports are written by barristers and solicitors who are present in court for the hearing of the argument and the handing down of judgment. The Law Reports is the only series of reports to include the argument of counsel. Additionally, the reports are submitted to counsel and the judges prior to publication to ensure accuracy and authority.

For more information, click here.

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The Times Law Reports (1990 – Present)

The Times Law Reports contains the full-text of every case report in The Times newspaper since 1990. The cases cover every branch of law and come from a wide range of jurisdictions, including the UK courts, the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Communities and the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Over 800 cases are compiled and edited by fully-qualified barristers each year. As a result, law reports from The Times are universally acknowledged for use as precedents in court. Each case has catchwords added and all citations are cross-checked and linked where possible.

For more information, click here.

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Weekly Law Reports (1953 – Present)

The Weekly Law Reports is the basis for The Law Reports, which contain
s the most authoritative reports available and should always be cited in preference. The Weekly Law Reports covers substantially more cases in more courts than any other series of law reports. They are recorded by the largest number of reporters who are actually present in court, and are reported faster than any other series. Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of The Weekly Law Reports are a series of authoritative reports of cases heard in the Superior and Appellate Courts that influence the application and development of the law in England and Wales.

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Human Rights (includes Human Rights Companion)

Contains the reports of all cases from the European Court of Human Rights going back to the Court's earliest judgment in 1960.

The Case Law database contains the reports of all cases from the European Court of Human Rights going back to the Court's earliest judgment in 1960.

The Legislation database contains European Human Rights Conventions including any relevant Protocols.

Justis Human Rights became available in June 2000, several months prior to the implementation of the Human Rights Act in October 2000, giving effect to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in UK law.

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Criminal Spectrum – Premiere Edition

Criminal Spectrum integrates a comprehensive collection of case law and legislation with prominent authored works and includes full-text and case summaries of reported and unreported cases, topical indexes, a case citator and search templates.

– What’s Included
– Criminal Spectrum Demonstration

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Canadian Labour Law Library

Canadian Labour Law Library is a complete electronic collection of dozens of volumes of labour law decisions and commentary covering decades of court decisions. Includes Canadian Labour Arbitration Summaries (CLAS). Access to more than 10,000 LAC decisions and 42,000 CLAS decisions.

– What’s Included
– Access to Canadian Labour Law Library

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All these databases can be accessed from “Indexes & Databases” from UBC Library webpages ( http://www.library.ubc.ca )

AGIS Plus Text (Australian database from informit)
AGIS Plus Text is a full text online database which offers secondary law resources covering all aspects of law in Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific. AGIS Plus Text provides access to articles from over 130 legal journals from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region indexed in the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Information Service (AGIS) database. Subject coverage includes all aspects of law including administrative law, banking, companies and securities, constitutional law, copyright law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, human rights, international law, legal aid, and trade practices.

CLI (Current Legal Information)
CLI contains:
– Legal Journals Index – indexes over 700 law journals and summarizes articles, case & legislative comments from UK, EU, and Irish law journals
– Current Law Cases – Digests of reported cases
– LRDI Grey Paper Index – An index of legal current awareness information
– Financial Journals Index – An index of financial and business articles
– Case Citator – A quick guide to all case law
– Legislation Citator – A one-stop guide to legislative developments

E&E (Environment & Energy) Publishing
Environment & Energy Publishing is the leading source for comprehensive, daily coverage of environmental and energy politics and policy. Includes reporting of issues facing the White House, Congress, the courts, federal agencies and the states.

Orders in Council (Canadian)
Orders In Council (Canadian) contains current and archived issues of Orders in Council in Canada. Also includes all approved Regulations (some of which have never been prepublished), Proclamation Orders (which bring sections of new Acts into effect), approved Proposed Regulations, any tax and duty remission orders, Ministerial Orders, Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Force (some of which are not published in the Canada Gazette). Available in html or pdf format .

All these new databases can be found under “Commercial Databases” from the Law Library homepage at http://www.library.ubc.ca/law/.