Law Library News for Feb. 5, 2007

Law Library News Archive

Cheryl Nyberg, editor

• Westlaw Training for 1Ls
• PBS Series on the U.S. Supreme Court
• Library Lifesavers
• Color My (Research) World: Blue Part Two
• Website of the Week: Project Safe Childhood

Westlaw Training for 1Ls

Register now for 1L Westlaw training, to be held this week in the Library’s Legal Research Training Center. Sessions begin on the hour and last 45 minutes:

• Tues., Feb. 6: Beginning at 1, 2, 3, and 4pm
• Wed., Feb. 7: Beginning at 10 and 11am; noon; and 1, 2, 3, and 4pm
• Thur., Feb. 8: Beginning at 9, 10, and 11am

Go to the Westlaw law school site and sign in. Then click on Westlaw training and register for a session.

PBS Series on the U.S. Supreme Court

The first installment of a new PBS series on the Supreme Court aired on Jan. 31st. The companion website features an overview of the four-part series, a discussion guide for grades 9 through 12, and biographical descriptions about the experts who appear during the series.

The website also includes a historical timeline of the Court’s developments since 1787, several interactive games, and essays on specific aspects of the Court’s history.

Library Lifesavers

Continuing our Bluebook 101 series, this week’s Library Lifesaver focuses on citing court opinions. We will also demonstrate how to use the new Electronic Journals list to find online versions of law reviews.

Come to Room 119 on Tuesday, Feb. 6th, from 12:45-1:15.

Color My (Research) World: Blue Part Two

While The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is the best known (and most despised!) blue book on the legal landscape, it is not unique. Blue books of other varieties dot the horizon.

State government manuals are also called “blue books.” Like the U.S. Government Manual, these state blue books are descriptive directories that identify agencies, bureaus, departments, divisions, offices, sections, and other units of state government. Legislative agencies and judicial bodies are also included. State history, cities and counties, historical lists of elected officials, and state facts are often provided.

Most of the state blue books are published by the secretaries of state. Alas, Washington State does not have an official blue book. The Washington State Yearbook is produced by a commercial publisher. JK9230.W38, current edition at Reference Area and Reference Office; previous editions at Classified Stacks.

You can find links to the web versions of other states’ blue books at Bradley University, Cullom-Davis Library’s wiki. In the Reference Office, see the State Legislative Sourcebook 2006, which provides titles, descriptions, and URLs for state blue books. JK2495.S689.

Are we through with blue? Not yet! No way! The Joint Committee on Taxation Has something to say. Each year the Joint Committee on Taxation publishes a “blue book” whose formal title is a General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted. In fact, the Joint Committee’s website shows a generic blue book and the slogan “The Blue Booklet: Joint Tax Prints the Facts.” Catchy, yes? The page provides a list of JCT publications dating back to 1981. The Government Printing Office website includes the full text of JCT documents from 1997 to date. The Law Library has print copies of many of the JCT blue books. Search the catalog by keywords “taxation and general explanation” to see a list. Other JCT blue book sources include: LexisNexis: TAX;LEGIS RIA Checkpoint Westlaw: FTX-BLUEBOOKS