WSLL @ Your Service April 2025
Contents
2024 in Review - Amy Crowder
This month, we released our 2024 Annual Report. Over the past year, we have strengthened our commitment to serving people across Wisconsin through our outreach efforts, reference services, and expanded access to electronic resources. Our initiatives help government officials, attorneys, librarians, and state residents, regardless of location, have access to information they need about the law and the court system. We take pride in delivering expert research support, robust print and ebook collections, and providing court forms and legal information tailored to our diverse users' needs. Our library services continue to thrive in the state's two most populous counties, offering essential resources to pro se litigants and judges in the Dane and Milwaukee County courthouses.
Our annual report highlights the achievements of the past year and the impact of our services, demonstrating the State Law Library's ongoing commitment to equal access to justice. Check out our data snapshots below, and read the full report: 2024 Annual Report.
Celebrate National Library Week with the State Law Library
Come celebrate spring at the library with our April open house! Scheduled during National Library Week, our open house features a dessert reception over the lunch hours on Thursday, April 10. Take a self guided tour of the library, check out our latest displays, and enjoy delicious sweets.
This year's National Library Week theme, Drawn to the Library, highlights the many ways libraries serve as essential resources for research, learning, and professional development. The open house offers a chance to connect with library staff, discover new materials, and learn more about the services available to legal professionals and the public.
The open house will take place in the library's reading room, located on the second floor of 120 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. All are welcome to join the celebration.
You're invited to our April Open House!
When: Thursday, April 10, 2025
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Where: Reading room of the Lavinia Goodell State Law Library
120 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, on the second floor
New Books & Library Services - Noelle Brasch
Check out this month's display on library resources! In honor of National Library Week, April 6-12, our display is highlighting new books as well as the Wisconsin State Law Library's history and services. Stop by our open house on April 10 to see the display in person or check below for some of our newest books.
New books in this display:
HUD Housing Programs: Tenants' Rights
KF 5729 .H83 2025
AILA Ethics Compendium : Modern Legal Ethics for Immigration Lawyers
KF 306 .A74 2024
American Indian Law in a nutshell
KF 8205 .C36 2025
Environmental Law in a nutshell
KF 3775 .Z9 F56 2024
Social Media and the Law
KF 390.5 .C6 A176 2024
The State of Wisconsin Blue Book : 2023-2024
KFW 2418 .B58 2023-2024
Music Law : How to run your band's business
KF 390 .E57 S87 2024
Planning an Estate : A guidebook of principles and techniques
KF 750 .W43 2024-2025
Digital resources:
New Books - Noelle Brasch
New Edition! HUD Housing Programs: Tenants' Rights
Call number: KF 5729 .H83 2025
The National Housing Law Project's HUD Housing Programs: Tenants' Rights, also known as "The Green Book," is a must-have resource on laws pertaining to the HUD's housing programs. This sixth edition provides updates related to the CARES Act, revised inspection standards for NSPIRE, and a restructured section on the Rental Assistance Demonstration program. "The Green Book" is a valuable manual for those working with tenants.
Topics include:
- Admission and tenant selection
- Common issues under federal housing programs
- Low income housing tax credit
- Evictions and subsidy terminations
New Book! AILA Ethics Compendium: Modern Legal Ethics for Immigration Lawyers
Call number: KF 306 .A74 2024
This compendium, published by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, provides ethics information focused specifically on the practice of immigration law. It contains a breakdown of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct with thoughtful analysis and real-world hypotheticals. For experienced and new lawyers alike, this book is a helpful reference tool to keep up to date on ethical issues common to the practice of immigration law.
Topics include:
- Client-lawyer relationship
- Multi-jurisdictional practice of law
- Potential conflicts of interest
- Responsibilities regarding non-lawyer assistance
- Virtual offices and practices
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.
Library News - Carol Hassler
New jury instruction updates
March brought updates to all three of the sets of Wisconsin jury instructions. The Wisconsin Jury Instructions are created and edited by the Wisconsin Jury Instructions Committees of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference.
These releases include:
- Children's Jury Instruction updates with one new instruction, and eight revised instructions. This set was last updated in July 2024.
- Civil Jury Instruction updates with two new instructions, a renumbered and revised instruction, and sixteen revised instructions. This set was last updated in July 2024.
- Criminal Jury Instruction updates with one new instruction, a renumbered and revised instruction, and 15 revised instructions. This set was last updated in December 2024.
The printable releases for each set of instructions can be downloaded at any time from the "Update releases" pages for each set.
Blank pages have been inserted to make double sided printing easier. File new, updated, and revised instructions, along with the updated table and index in your print set. Complete printable files of each instruction set and finding aids are also available for those who need to print a complete set. Download them at https://wilawlibrary.gov/jury/
For information on the status of the Committee's work, please contact Bryce Pierson at bryce.pierson@wicourts.gov.
Library contributes to State Bar's InsideTrack
Learn how to set up email and RSS feed notifications for legislative and regulatory updates, as well as executive actions. In March InsideTrack's Legal Research 101: Stay on Track with Law and Regulation Updates, librarian Carol Hassler outlines subscription notification options at the state and federal level.
CLE Webinars
Sign up for our upcoming webinars, and spring your legal research skills to a new level. Registration is free for all three of the following webinars, and each class qualifies for 1 free CLE credit. Please reach out to Michael Keane with questions about the class and Jaden Henneman with questions about registering.
Federal Legislative History - Some Methods in Researching Acts of Congress
Law Day -Thursday, May 1, noon-1:00 p.m.
Location: Live webinar - Federal Legislative History - Some Methods in Researching Acts of Congress
1 CLE credit
Sometimes an Act of Congress leaves some room for disagreement about how it should be applied or interpreted. This class discusses some of the documentary sources that can help give insight into what Congress was considering while passing legislation. This information, available through sources such as Congress.gov and HeinOnline as well as a variety of printed material, is the sort usually resorted to by courts and lawyers when they ask, "What did Congress really mean?"
Wisconsin Legislative History - Budget Bill Calamities
Wednesday, June 11, noon-1:00 p.m.
Location: Live webinar - Wisconsin Legislative History - Budget Bill Calamities
1 CLE credit
Statutory provisions created by a budget bill pose special problems in legislative history research. The budget bill process is complex and the drafting file created during the process is even more daunting. Learn how to identify statutes created by budget bills and how to navigate the drafting file. This advanced class covers additional techniques used in budget bill research
April Snapshot
Pines at Old World Wisconsin
Arbor Day in Wisconsin is April 25. Most states celebrate Arbor Day the last Friday of April but, as noted on the Arbor Day Foundation website, many states observe Arbor Day on different dates. To see list of Arbor Day activities throughout Wisconsin, check out the Arbor Day events page. Tree planting, of course, is the most common way to mark the day. In Wisconsin, state law allows school principals to request one free tree for each 4th grade student. The Dept. of Natural Resources provides trees from state forest nurseries. Find tree planting advice and Arbor Day inspiration on the Dept. of Natural Resources Arbor Day page.
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.
