Wisconsin State Law Library

Read it online with your library card - Amy Crowder

Did you know you can access HeinOnline, LLMC Digital, and Index to Legal Periodicals outside one of our libraries, for free? You just need our library card. These subscription databases provide a variety of primary and secondary source materials including law reviews; federal laws, opinions, government documents; and archived state materials. Here's a look at a few of our favorites.

Legislative Journals from all 50 States

Over 8,000 volumes of state legislative journals are available in this collection on LLMC Digital. For most states, coverage spans from the early to mid-19th century through the late 20th century. Journals are arranged by state. LLMC hopes to expand coverage to colonial and territorial legislatures in the future.

7th Circuit Records and Briefs

A significant number of 7th Circuit records and briefs dating back to the 1920s are preserved and made available on LLMC, in partnership with the University of Illinois Albert E. Jenner Jr. Law Library and Google. Library users can search by docket number, party name, and dates, as well as searching full-text.

Wisconsin Law-Related Journals

Frequently cited law reviews and journals can be found on HeinOnline and Index to Legal Periodicals. These include all published issues of several Wisconsin titles: Marquette Law Review, Wisconsin Law Review, Wisconsin Bar Bulletin, and the Wisconsin Lawyer. An easy way to find these and other titles is by searching our Library Catalog and using the links that appear for each journal.

Gun Regulation and Legislation in America

This HeinOnline collection brings together compiled legislative histories, CRS Reports, Congressional hearings, U.S. Supreme Court briefs, scholarly articles, monographs, and other numerous related materials on the topic of regulating firearms. The collection is continually updated.

The Wisconsin State Law Library is pleased to provide these databases to our users. Visit our Articles & Journals page, select the database of interest, and enter your name and library card number when prompted. Only cardholders in firms with fewer than 25 attorneys may log in to HeinOnline; our other databases available to cardholders are available to everyone.

Signing up for a card is easy - fill out our online form or give us a call at 608-266-1600.

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Leave Your Card at Home - Carol Hassler

September is Library Card Sign-up Month and while we love our library cards, it's not always convenient to carry them around. If you're trying to minimize what you store in your wallet, consider taking a photo or scanning your library card to keep it on your phone instead.

Use a smartphone loyalty card app to store your library barcode - and many more - so you don't have carry a lot of cards around. With your barcode on your phone, you only have to remember your phone next time you check out books from the library. Popular apps include CardStar, Key Ring, and Stocard for Android and iOS.

You can also take a photo of your card and store it in your phone's photo library for easy access. The next time you check out a book, you might be able to use your phone instead!

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New Books - Kari Zelinka

New Edition!  What Are My Rights? Q & A About Teens and the Law, by Thomas A. Jacobs
Call Number: KF 479 .J334 2019

Judge Tom Jacobs has recently updated What are my Rights?  Q & A about Teens and the Law to include current statistics, new questions and answers, and the latest facts to help teens understand their rights and make informed decisions. Jacobs uses true stories about young people whose cases changed the legal system to illustrate various situations for teens. This book would be useful for parents as well as teens wondering about the consequences of texting and driving, social media posting, minimum age for a tattoo, discrimination, freedom of expression at school, and much more. 

Learn about legal topics involving teens in the following areas:

• Family
• School
• Jobs
• Cyberbullying
• Depression
• Undocumented immigrants

New Edition! Handbook on Household Hazardous Waste, edited by Amy Cabaniss
Call Number:  TD 1030 .H36 2018

Have you ever wondered how to get rid of mostly empty paint cans or changed the oil in your car and were then flummoxed by what to do with the old oil? If you are anything like me, some of these items might sit around in your basement or garage until it's time to move and then it can be quite a job to dispose of everything correctly and quickly! While you might turn to your local municipality for information on collection sites in your area, if you need to delve further into this subject, look no further than this book. Its purpose is to inform professionals working for government and businesses as well as students and other interested people about household hazardous waste and its storage and disposal. It has been ten years since the first edition was published and all chapters and appendices in the second edition have been updated to contain new information and perspectives..

Here are a few questions the authors answer:

• What is household waste and why do we collect it?
• What are some best management practices?
• What are some effective ways to motivate behavior change?
• How are household hazardous waste collections held and collected materials managed?
• Where can I find resources for my state?

See our latest New Titles list for a list of new books and other resources.

For assistance in accessing these or other resources, please contact our Reference Desk.

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Tech Tip - Heidi Yelk

Link rot. It's an apt name for a serious and annoying problem. Link rot is when an online link no longer leads to the information being cited. Instead of the article or report expected, users encounter a "page not found" message or 404 error.

With so much information now found in a digital format, it follows that writers of all stripes -- scholars, judges, journalists -- are citing to online sources. The more dynamic the online source, the more likely the link will rot away within a year or two. 

Link rot becomes particularly serious when the link is used in a brief or legal opinion. Recognizing this problem, Harvard Law School created Perma.cc, a free digital archive service for courts and academic institutions. Other entities, such as law firms and publishers can purchase subscriptions to use the service.

Perma.cc has been up and running since 2014 and a quick search of Westlaw and Lexis finds "perma.cc" links throughout the database. Secondary sources such as law reviews and bar journals are the most frequent users of the database, submitting thousands of webpages for permanent archive. Judges are also on board, albeit to a lesser extent. Approximately 2,000 legal opinions contain perma.cc links. Many private attorneys are using the service to archive webpages cited in briefs. See the accounts page for information on accounts and usage.

Perma.cc is not a searchable database. Readers must have a direct Perma.cc link to find the archived document. For example: https://perma.cc/E3HZ-X768 as cited in State v. Braunschweig 2018 WI 113. 

Not interested in creating a Perma.cc account? There are still ways to make sure a webpage is archived. The Internet Archive, which as been in the web archive business since 1996, allows anyone to save a page so long as the site is available to crawlers. Use the Save Page Now box on the main page to request that a page get archived.

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Library News - Carol Hassler

New InsideTrack article

Carol Hassler, Web Services Librarian, published an article in the State Bar of Wisconsin's September InsideTrack. Archive Quest: Finding Archived Legal Material guides readers through the process of researching old laws, court opinions, and other legal texts. Read this for tips on researching archived laws and older interpretations of the law.

Baraboo Women's Suffrage display

This summer the Baraboo Public Library reached out to ask if they could use our Nineteenth Amendment display materials to supplement their own display in September. We were thrilled to share our materials! Stop by the Baraboo Public Library through September 23rd to view their display commemorating the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, and Baraboo's connection to it. (Photo courtesy of the Baraboo Public Library)

Librarians reach out

State Law Librarian Julie Robinson gave a lunchtime presentation to Sauk County Bar Association members in picturesque Baraboo. Highlighted in her presentation were services including Borrow by Mail, Order a Document, Ask a Question and Start Here Guides. She was very pleased that all the attendees signed up for Library cards. If you would like to have Julie speak at your Bar Association's meeting please contact her at Julie.Robinson@wicourts.gov or 608-261-2340.

In August, we were pleased to welcome librarians from the South Central Library System to the David T. Prosser Jr. Library. Librarians Jaime Healy-Plotkin and Carol Hassler presented tips for legal research and providing legal reference service to public library users. Heidi Yelk led the visiting librarians on a tour of the library as well.

New Dane County Law Library staff

The Dane County Law Library welcomes Kira Zimmerman as the new library assistant. Kira recently graduated with a degree in history from Oberlin College, and was a student archivist for three years. Welcome, Kira!

Look for us at WLA

Wisconsin State Law Library staff will present two sessions at the upcoming Wisconsin Library Association conference in October. We look forward to seeing you there!

It's a Trap! How to Avoid Giving Legal Advice in Reference Services
Wednesday, October 9, 4:30-5:15 p.m.
Librarians can be at the front lines of the legal system. Helping users to access legal information and resources can be complicated. Where is the line between research help and giving legal advice? How can you determine which sources are authoritative or up to date? This session gives examples and practical tips, including phrases you can use to manage your users' expectations. Discover online sources for case law, statutes, and regulations, and understand how the Wisconsin State Law Library's website and services can be used to optimize your legal reference services.

Public Records: Research Tips and Tricks
Thursday, October 10, 9:00-9:45 a.m.
Embrace your inner government information nerd! Get an overview of the history of Wisconsin's public records law, understand top research sources, and learn where to find public records on individuals and businesses. Discover state and local court records, business entity records, liens, real estate records, and more. We'll help you find online and offline government agency sources for commonly-sought Wisconsin public records.

Fall classes

Our fall classes are beginning to fill up! Sign up now so you don't miss out.

Milwaukee

Apps and Add-ons to Improve Research Productivity and Efficiency
Thursday, November 7, Noon - 1 p.m.
Location: Meeting Room 1 at the Central Library, 814 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee
Presenter: Beverly Butula
Smartphones and tablets are a ubiquitous part of our lives. There are a significant number of Apps and Add-ons for those devices that can improve our productivity, efficiency, and assist with research. This session will highlight several free or low-cost quality Apps and Add-ons that will benefit lawyers and paralegals.
FREE. 1 CLE credit. Registration is suggested through the Milwaukee County Law Library and space is limited. Call 414-278-4900 or email mcll.ref@wicourts.gov to register. Print Registration Form These are demonstration classes.

Madison

New Features on Westlaw
Tuesday, October 15, Noon - 1 p.m.
Location: David T. Prosser Jr. Library training room
The objective of this course is to update and refresh attorneys on Westlaw and show new tools, features and content available. The new tools and content enhancements will also assist the attorneys in providing more cost effective researching to their clients.
FREE. 1 CLE credit. Registration is limited to 8. Register Online | Print Registration Form

Introduction to Wisconsin Legislative History
Wednesday, October 23, Noon - 1 p.m.
Location: David T. Prosser Jr. Library training room
I need the legislative history of a Wisconsin statute. Where do I start? What do I do? Participants will look at the primary resources used to research Wisconsin legislative history, learn about the online Wisconsin legislative drafting files, and learn some helpful tips and tricks along the way. This introductory class covers basic research strategies and sources.
FREE. 1 CLE credit. Registration is limited to 8. Register Online | Print Registration Form

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September Snapshot

Circus World
Photo by Julie Robinson

Julie Robinson gave a lunchtime presentation to Sauk County Bar Association members in picturesque Baraboo. Afterwards, she stopped by the next-door Circus World for some photos.

We are accepting snapshots! Do you have a photo highlighting libraries, attractions or points of historical interest? Send your photo the editor at carol.hassler@wicourts.gov to be included in a future issue.

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