New HeinOnline Database - U.S. Federal Agency (1/9/08)

The Library has added a new module to our collection of HeinOnline databases: U.S. Federal Agency. HeinOnline's U.S. Federal Agency Library is a collection of the case law of many U.S. government institutions. Please stop by the Reference Desk and see a Librarian if you need help researching in this source

New Database - Foreign Law Guide (12/19/07)

The Law Library has added a new electronic subscription to our collection of online licensed databases - Foreign Law Guide: Current Sources of Code and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World. Containing information on more than 170 jurisdictions, the database is designed to locate primary and secondary sources of foreign law and is an excellent starting point for finding foreign law both in the language of the country and in translation. For each country there is a brief introduction to the legal system, a list of past and current sources of legal information including both print and online and a section listing sources of law by subject.  The search interface allows you to search the database for words or phrases by country.

New Database - Constitutions of the Countries of the World Online (12/14/07)

Constitutions of the World provides access to 198 country constitutions with extensive commentary from leading scholars. Original English translations are provided. Users are able to search for topics across all nations. This database is limited to one user at a time.

New HeinOnline Database - Foreign Relations of the U.S. (10/2/07)

The Library has added a new module to our collection of HeinOnline databases. HeinOnline's Foreign Relations of the United States module presents the official historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity from 1861-1975. Produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian, it comprises more than 350 volumes of historical information. Please stop by the Reference Desk and see a Librarian if you need help researching in this source.

New HeinOnline Databases (8/6/07)

The Library has added three new modules to our collection of HeinOnline databases: Session Laws, American Law Institute Library, and U.S. Congressional Documents Collection. Below is a description of each of the new modules. Please stop by the Reference Desk and see a Librarian if you need help researching in any of these sources.

1. HeinOnline's Session Laws contains the session laws of all 50 U.S. States (as well as the Acts of the Parliament of Canada) from approximately 2000 to the near present. Coverage does not include the most recent year. HeinOnline expects to include new session laws as published as well as expanded coverage of historical session laws prior to 2000. HeinOnline expects coverage to eventually include all published session laws for all 50 states as far back as the Colonial period.
2. The HeinOnline American Law Institute Library provides access to the ALI Guide; ALI Annual Reports; Proceedings of ALI Annual Meetings; ALI Annual Meeting speeches; The ALI Reporter; "Statement of Essential Human Rights" Archive; Uniform Commercial Code; Model Penal Code; and other miscellaneous ALI publications.
3. HeinOnline U.S. Congressional Documents Library includes the following array of documents:

Annals of Congress, formally known as The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, cover the 1st Congress through the first session of the 18th Congress, from 1789 to 1824. The Annals were not published contemporaneously, but were compiled between 1834 and 1856, using the best records available, primarily newspaper accounts. Speeches are paraphrased rather than presented verbatim, but the record of debate is nonetheless fuller than that available from the House and Senate Journals.

The Register of Debates is a record of the congressional debates of the 18th Congress, 2nd Session through the 25th Congress, 1st Session (1824-37). It is the second of the four series of publications containing the debates of Congress. It was the first attempt to publish contemporaneously, a record of the debates and proceedings of Congress. The Register of Debates is not a verbatim account of the proceedings, but rather a summary of the "leading debates and incidents" of the period.

Congressional Globe, usually referred to as the Globe, contains the congressional debates of the 23rd through 42nd Congresses (1833-73). There are forty-six volumes in the series based on the table found in the Third Edition of Checklist of United States Public Documents 1789-1909, Volume 1B (pp. 1466-69). Initially the Globe contained a "condensed report" or abstract rather than a verbatim report of the debates and proceedings. With the 32nd Congress (1851), however, the Globe began to provide something approaching verbatim transcription. Congressional Record (bound ed.) v. 1-10 (1873-1880) and v. 142-149 (1996-2003); the entire collection is scheduled for completion in 2008.

The American State Papers are a collection of 38 volumes comprising the legislative and executive documents of the first fourteen Congresses from 1789 to 1838. These papers cover such historical events as Lewis and Clark’s Expedition, Burr’s Conspiracy and Arrest, and the Treaty of the Creek Indians made by Andrew Jackson on Aug. 9, 1814. They also include speeches and messages from Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison.

Journals of the Continental Congress are the records of daily proceedings of the Continental Congress, as kept by Secretary Charles Thomson. The Continental Congress was the first national government of the United States.

Introducing BNA-ALL (7/2/07)

The Library recently subscribed to a large collection of databases, BNA-ALL. BNA (Bureau of National Affairs) is a leading legal news provider and a publisher of looseleaf services in topical areas such as tax, labor, environment, business, and more. Our subscription to BNA-ALL includes electronic access to U.S. Law Week, Daily Labor Report, and other popular titles. BNA-ALL gives us access to all of the BNA titles online, including many that we have never owned in print format. Faculty and students may also sign up for e-mail alerts in many different subject areas. Licensing the titles in the BNA-All package entitles us to access the materials on three platforms — the BNA website, Lexis, and Westlaw.  Westlaw has fully enabled access to BNA on its system; Lexis will do the same very shortly.

BNA provides two types of resources. First, it publishes daily or weekly newsletters covering legal developments in a particular area of law.  The second set of resources that BNA-ALL offers online are called reference libraries and include materials that allow you to track regulatory changes, to find guidance documents and forms and to locate applicable case law.  Another BNA resource is of particular importance in the tax area – Tax Management Portfolios for U.S. Income, Estates, Gifts & Trusts, and Foreign Income; practice tools like model letters and agreements may also be found in these libraries.

New BNA Database - Labor and Employment Law Library (4/3/07)

The Law Library now subscribes to the electronic BNA's Labor & Employment Law Library. To access the database click on the Law Library link on the Law School's home page, then click Databases, scroll down and click on the Labor and Employment Law Library (BNA). This database provides federal and state coverage of all major areas of labor and employment law. This source includes the BNA Labor Relations Reporter and all its components: fair employment practices; individual employment rights; Americans with disabilities; wages and hour; labor-management relations; collective bargaining; and labor arbitration. Unfortunately, the Daily Labor Report is not part of the academic subscription; there is a link for this publication on the database main page, but we cannot access it. The Labor and Employment Law Library is accessible off campus, via use of a proxy. Members of the Western New England College School of Law community who are off campus will need to enter their user name, library barcode number, and PIN when off campus.