Subject Specialist:
Law, Political Science, International Affairs
814-863-1347
e-mail: hms2@psu.edu
Helen Sheehy
Title: Head Social Sciences Library
Subject Specialist:
Law, Political Science, International Affairs
814-863-1347
e-mail: hms2@psu.edu
The Pattee/Paterno Libraries maintain a strong collection of law materials, housing one of the largest collections of legal materials in Central Pennsylvania. Support services for these collections reside in the Social Sciences Library (2nd floor Paterno Library) for general law, and the Business Library (3rd floor Paterno Library) for business law.
Combined with the resources of The Dickinson School of Law Library, which joined Penn State in 2000, the Penn State Libraries provide access to a first-rate legal research collection.
For more information, see the related research guides:
Note: [Penn State Libraries] indicates a Libraries' resource available to researchers with a Penn State Access Account.
LexisNexis Academic [Penn State Libraries]
LoislawConnect [Penn State Libraries]
CQ [Congressional Quarterly] Supreme Court Collection [Penn State Libraries]
Supreme Court Yearbook [Congressional Quarterly] [Penn State Libraries]
Index to Legal Periodicals Full Text [Penn State Libraries]
LegalTrac [Penn State Libraries]
Index to Foreign legal periodicals [Penn State Libraries]
HeinOnline [Penn State Libraries]
In addition to LexisNexis Academic and LoislawConnect, these databases provide access to cases and additional commentary. All of the following are [Penn State Libraries] resources:
Bureau of National Affairs (BNA):
CCH (Commerce Clearing House):
Constitutions of the Countries of the World [Penn State Libraries]
CQ [Congressional Quarterly] Electronic Library [Penn State Libraries]
InterAM Database [National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade] [Penn State Libraries]
International Law in Domestic Courts [Penn State Libraries]
United States Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978 [Penn State Libraries]
Making of Modern Law [Penn State Libraries]
Westlaw China [Penn State Libraries]
There are several types of law. Understand what you need to find before you begin your research.
Statutes, Regulations, Court Cases, and Jurisdictions [Libraries' Research Guide]
Begin with secondary sources. They are often the most useful for those just beginning legal research since they put the statutes, regulations, and court cases in the context of a body of law.
The CAT — locate Penn State Libraries' holdings in all formats: books, microfiche or microfilm, audio, video, and online
Now find the specific type of law you need by jurisdiction.
Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (Cornell LII [Legal Information Institute])
Citing Legal Resources - some basic resources
A Citation Guide for Government and Legal Information — beyond the Bluebook
"Best of the Web" -- A few good starting places with links to many more:
