Wisconsin State Law Library

Welcome, New Graduates! - Carol Hassler

This year we're pleased to welcome new members of the State Bar of Wisconsin to our library for the signing of the attorney roll book. In April and May, new graduates will leave our doors with their signatures captured in one of these historic books. Current roll books are kept with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, but the library serves as the repository for original attorney roll books from 1848 through June 2011. Over 43,000 names are registered in the historical collection at the library alone!

For new graduates and experienced attorneys alike, we invite you to use the Wisconsin State Law Library to help your practice. Active members of the State Bar of Wisconsin can apply for a free library card online or at any of our three libraries located in Madison and Milwaukee.

Our online and eBook collections are accessible 24/7 and can be used from your home or office. The Lexis Digital Library is a convenient way to read online versions of many of our print Lexis-published books, as well as current books from other legal publishers. CCH AnswerConnect is a gateway to modern tax publications, opinions, and analysis. Visit our eBooks page to browse the entire collection, or head directly to the book you want to read using links in our catalog.

One-stop service

Our catalog is a great one-stop resource for all the ways you can read a book - whether it's online or in print in our libraries. Get to the catalog through the search box on our home page, or from the Search menu on our site. Select "Books and More" to search the catalog. Head to our catalog to find direct links to online books. For Lexis Digital books, look for a link at the top of the catalog record with the title of the book and a link to Lexis Digital.

Select the Lexis Digital link to log in with your library card. This link directs you to the book in Lexis Digital or, in the case of a several-volume set, you'll arrive at the entire set of books - which you can search or browse.

Fast and friendly service

We provide our services statewide! For those living or working far from one of our libraries, get remote research assistance and borrow books through the mail, and read eBooks any time with your State Law Library card.

Librarians are available Monday through Friday to help with your research. Call us for help at 608-267-9696, or send an email to wsll.ref@wicourts.gov to get research assistance no matter where you are in the world.

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New Books - Kari Zelinka

New Update! Waters and Water Rights, 3rd edition, by Amy Kelly, 2009 (Release 14: 2023)
Call Number: KF 5569 .W391

Waters and Water Rights, written by Amy Kelly and other experts in the field, is a comprehensive resource is an evolving field of law. This five volume set is updated annually and focuses on national water law, with interstate, state-specific and international coverage as well. Water quality issues have increased as a result of population growth and the development that follows. Likewise, regulation and litigation over water use and quality is growing as well. If you need to consult Waters and Water Rights, you can browse the set in the library, check it out, or access it on Lexis Digital with your library barcode. 

Topics include:

• Riparianism
• Prior appropriation
• Quantitative groundwater law
• Water distribution, storage, and management organizations
• Federal and Indian rights, powers, and activity
• Interstate water allocation
• International issues
• Water pollution and water quality control
• Drainage, flooding, and wetlands preservation
• River basin and state surveys
  

New Edition! Evidentiary Foundations, 12th edition, by Edward J. Imwikelried, 2023.
Call Number: KF 8935 .I45 2023

The twelfth edition of Evidentiary Foundations presents all the important evidentiary doctrines and lists the events and facts you need to present in court. There is a new section on the authentication of records stored in the cloud and additional expert opinions. Find out what's required for sharing hard copies of evidence via document cameras and projection screens. The new edition also focuses on pending amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence. Evidentiary Foundations is available in print to check out from the library as well as available electronically in Lexis Digital, which you can access with your library barcode.

Chapters include:

• The Competency of witnesses
• Authentication
• Rule 403 and legal irrelevance limitations on credibility evidence
• Legal irrelevance limitations on evidence that is relevant to the historical merits of the case
• Privileges and similar doctrines
• The best evidence rule
• Opinion evidence
• The hearsay rule, its exemptions, and its exceptions
• Substitutes for evidence

 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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eBooks and Equivalents on Display - Kari Zelinka

This month's display features eBooks from HeinOnline and Lexis Digital.  These books can be checked out with your library card or you can access the eBooks from our website under Search - eBooks.  If you're outside the library, log in to these databases with your library barcode. 

HeinOnline includes law reviews, US primary law, opinions, agency documents, and more. Library cardholders in firms with fewer than 25 attorneys may log in to HeinOnline. Lexis Digital offers eBook versions of popular Lexis titles. Titles include Employment in Wisconsin: Guide to Employment Law, Collier on Bankruptcy, Corbin on Contracts, Moore's Federal Practice, and more.

In this display:

• Code of Federal Regulations (HeinOnline)
• Employment in Wisconsin (Lexis Digital)
• Evidentiary foundations (Lexis Digital)
• Restatements of the Law from the American Law Institute (HeinOnline)
• United States Code (HeinOnline)
• Warren's forms of agreements (Lexis Digital)
• Waters and water rights (Lexis Digital)
• Jack Stark's The Wisconsin State Constitution (Lexis Digital)

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Tech tip - Heidi Yelk

Sort, Add, Delete PDF pages

Several years ago, this column featured the PDF tools offered on the website ilovepdf.com. Since then, even more PDF tools have been added to this free service. One of the most useful features is the "Organize PDF" tool. Organize PDF allows users to upload a PDF document and edit in several ways. Users can remove pages, rearrange pages, add more pages, rotate pages, and/or insert blank pages. The modified file can be saved as a new PDF document. This tool can save time if you need to modify original PDFs, such as those scanned on a book scanner or photocopier.

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Library News - Carol Hassler

New Library Associate

The Milwaukee County Law Library is pleased to introduce the newest addition to our staff, library associate Mara Staples. Mara is an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who has a love of books and libraries. In her previous roles in banking and hospitality, Mara has proven to be personable, helpful, and cool under pressure. We are pleased that she will be bringing her excellent customer service and problem solving skills to our library. Welcome, Mara!

Law Day in Dane County

Don't miss Law Day at the Dane County Courthouse this year! On Tuesday, May 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., head to the Dane County Courthouse for three CLE programs (free to the public and Dane County Bar Association - DCBA members). The Dane County Law Library will be hosting free legal consultations from Dane County attorneys all day in room L1007 - located in the lower level of the courthouse. See the full schedule and program descriptions on the DCBA Law Day 2023 event page.

Sun's out - Time to learn!

There is still space available in our remaining spring classes! Registrations for our webinars will be approved by the moderator. Once your registration is approved, you will get an email confirmation with connection information. Please reach out to Abigail Case with questions.

Wisconsin legislative history - Advanced
Wednesday, May 24, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Live webinar - Register for Wisconsin legislative history - Advanced
FREE

Participants will learn about online Wisconsin legislative resources and learn some helpful tips and tricks along the way. This class goes beyond the normal sources for legislative history, focusing on the special steps and sources involved in researching budget bills, legislative council bills, and judicial branch enactments.

Summer School - Online Legal Research 101 at the Wisconsin State Law Library
Two sessions offered! Choose from:
Thursday, June 8, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 13, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: David T. Prosser Jr. Library, training room. Register for this in-person class by sending an email to Abigail Case (abigail.case@wicourts.gov)
FREE

This three hour, in-person session includes instruction in using two premium databases offered onsite at the Wisconsin State Law Library -- Westlaw Classic and Lexis Advance.  Learn the database interface, case law searching, citation tools, practice area resources and finding secondary sources.  The third hour of the class is dedicated to free online case research tools including Google Scholar, Google Books, and wicourts.gov. 

Libraries closed on Memorial Day

All three libraries will be closed on Monday, May 29th in observance of Memorial Day. Send questions and requests to wsll.ref@wicourts.gov or leave a message at 608-267-9696. We'll get back to you on Tuesday, May 30th.

There's more to the story…continued

Last month librarian Angela Humiston highlighted the Wisconsin Briefs collection as an important source for historical and current research in “There's more to the story - appellate briefing provides valuable insight”. The featured case, Gahl v. Aurora Health Care, Inc 2022 WI App 29, 403 Wis. 2d 539, 977 N.W.2d 756, will be decided this week. Watch for the opinion on the case history page.

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May Snapshot

Enjoying a sunny day at Door County's Cave Point County Park.

Photo by Amy Crowder

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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