Wisconsin Briefs

While wildly populous in its native territory, the elusive Wisconsin Brief is a coveted and difficult target for information hunters. Long-lived, this typically caramel-colored specimen has a complicated and fascinating life cycle. While ancestors of the contemporary brief once existed solely in paper, the brief now spawns from paper into stunning variations: meek microfiche and peaceful web files.

Fast Facts:

• Wisconsin Supreme Court (1839-) Published and unpublished.
• Wisconsin Court of Appeals (1978-) Published and unpublished.

Region: KFW 2400

Government Documents

An often overlooked species, the government document tends to make its home anywhere and everywhere. It is not uncommon to find one nesting in your mailbox or squirreled into dusty corners of bookshelves. Feared for its camouflage of statistical tables and alarming call numbers, the government document can be a surprisingly docile and helpful creature. Whether you are searching for a new way to power your home or a treatise on education laws, snaring a government document will earn you a valuable friend on your trek through the jungle.

Fast Facts:

• Varieties include microfiche, paper, CDROM, and of course, Web.
• Documents from individual agencies can be found clustered together for safety.

Region: 3rd Floor, Southeast side

Media Collection

The strutting peacocks of the information world, audio/visual materials clamor for attention. Indeed, it is difficult to pass within 20 feet of one of these fine specimens without responding to their lure of light and sound. While flashy colors can often indicate danger, these creatures only mimic their dangerous and flighty cousins (Media Entertainum). Whether you're listening for the call of a legal trainer rising high and clear on a foggy morning, or hoping to spot the tail of a CLE seminar as it flashes through the brush, the Media Collection is a gem to observe.

Fast Facts:

• Variant subspecies include DVD, VHS, Audiocassette, CD-ROM and accompanying guide books.
• Includes over 300 titles of substantive legal materials, in addition to titles on training or personal and professional growth resources.

Region: Media, next to the Reference Desk

General Forms

Legal forms are a keystone species in the legal information jungle. Tangling through thick trees and grassland alike, these vines are not just useful for tying up a snakebite or lashing a book to your back. In fact, the fruits of general legal forms have been known to feed everything from animals to architects, and businesses to buyers. Some varieties even create fabulous fruit clusters that meet a variety of needs for the jungle traveler. Be careful, though! Some forms may require cooking and seasoning before consumption.

Fast Facts:

• Known as "Jewels of the Jungle".
• Especially produce-laden varieties include American Jurisprudence, Current Legal Forms with Tax Analysis, and West's Legal Forms.

Region: KF 170

Tax Resources

Wary and wise travelers know to give the dreaded tax pits a wide berth. Riddled with gritty quagmires, massive serpents, and crafty weasels, it is a wonder any one would seek out such dangerous terrain. Yet year after year sees new sets of footprints skirting its famous dangers. The reason for this seasonal migration is written on the walls of caverns gracing this dreaded place: the Tax Code. Though covered in cobweb and guarded by menacing creatures, the Tax Code remains chiseled, waiting to guide new adventurers who have survived that far.

Fast Facts:

• Popular footpaths to the Tax Code include the Standard Federal Tax Reporter or the Tax Management Portfolios.
• Paths to view the Tax Code are so well worn because it is constantly changing. Weep for the researcher who must brave these dangers yearly!

Region: KF 6000's

American Law Reports

Under frothy tree fronds and in the rocky crags of mist-covered cliffs, the American Law Reports weaves its web. In the morning before the heat of the day sets in, the cases, law review articles, and annotations trapped in its net glisten like jewels in the sun. Be very quiet on approaching this magnificent creature. It startles easily and has a wide appetite for knowledge.

Fast Facts:

• Save time in your topical research! ALR catches cases and articles from many jurisdictions, wrapping them up in an efficiently spun in-depth analysis.
• Asking (very nicely) for help might earn you an answer spelled out in spider silk.

Region: KF 132

Labor Resources

Sneak up on labor resources by first locating a deep jungle stream and a thick reed for breathing. Stealthily swim your way up until the water tastes sweet in your mouth. Surface carefully and look up. High in the canopy, the workforce swirls busily, honey dripping down like falling stars into the jungle below. Labor resources are famous for attracting hoards of animals. All around, drowning out the sound of honey pattering on the undergrowth, beasts looking for employment law root through the shrubs. This galaxy of information spun by Labor resources is not to be missed!

Fast Facts:

• Popular and abundant types of honey include the BNA Labor Relations Reporter and NOLO employment law and business handbooks.
• Contrary to popular belief, Labor resources do not whistle while they work, but instead emit a low, sweet hum, rather like a low-pitched harmonica or a very tiny chainsaw.

Region: KF 3000's