Wisconsin State Law Library

What’s New – Connie Von Der Heide

Upcoming Classes

Watch, Learn, and Listen with WisconsinEye
Wednesday, March 17, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. at Wisconsin State Law Library

WisconsinEye has been dubbed "Wisconsin's C-SPAN," providing live coverage and archived video of various government happenings. The website and television channel are valuable tools for anyone following state and local government. In this one-hour educational session, Christopher Long, CEO and President of WisconsinEye, will discuss the history and mission of the network, lead a tour of the website and take questions pertaining to this unique service. Legislative hearings, floor sessions, Supreme Court oral arguments, local public board meetings and news conferences are just some of the offerings on WisconsinEye. Join us to learn about these and more!
FREE Class. 1 CLE credit applied for.
Registration is limited to 20. Register Online | Print Registration Form

Up to Top

Click To It: Congressional and U.S. Agency Research – Carol Hassler

You may already use HeinOnline as a resource for locating journal articles. You might even use it for specialized collections like Legal Classics, English Reports, and World Trials. But Federal researchers take note! Rounding out our current HeinOnline access to Federal materials like the CFR & the Federal Register, US Reports, US Statutes, and Presidential materials, comes new and archived Congressional and administrative agency documents.

We now subscribe to HeinOnline's U.S. Congressional Documents and U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals libraries.

Full Text Congressional Documents

Tip: When searching a bill number, enter it as a phrase into the search box (e.g. "H.R. 1350 "). Always include punctuation in the bill number (e.g. "H.R. ").

The Congressional Record and its predecessors, important tools for Federal legislative history, are now available full text through HeinOnline. Previous incarnations are also available.

If you know a citation, you can either browse or search for that section. HeinOnline also allows you to search by word/phrase, by a Congressperson’s name, or roll call votes.

Browse the Congressional Record by Session/Year, then Volume/Date

Search for a specific citation using the Citation Navigator

For tips on searching Congressional documents, see HeinOnline’s help FAQ and quick reference guide.

Full Text Federal Agency Documents

While US Reports have been available for a while, Wisconsin State Law Library users can now also access case law from major Federal agencies and institutions.

The U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals collection includes full text access to:

• Environmental Administrative Decisions
• FCC Record (& previous title FCC Reports)
• Federal Trade Commission Decisions
• Internal Revenue Cumulative Bulletin and Internal Revenue Bulletin
• National Labor Relations Board Decisions
• Reports of the U.S. Tax Courts
• Securities and Exchange Commission Decisions
• and more…

As with Congressional documents, you can browse or search for a specific citation, or craft a keyword search to locate decisions.

Popular Government Documents

There’s a lot more that’s new too. Access popular government documents, such as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure with Forms, Statistical Abstract of the United States, or the Intelligence Community Legal Reference Book. Topical compilations of laws and agency manuals are also available.

For a complete listing of new titles in the Library Catalog, visit the HeinOnline Congressional and HeinOnline Federal Agency resource lists.

How Can You Access HeinOnline?

Authorized WSLL library cardholders can access the HeinOnline service remotely through our Articles & Journals page. Simply enter your name and library card number as prompted. (Note: some access restrictions apply.)

If you don’t have a WSLL library card and are eligible for one, visit any of our three libraries or fill out our online registration form.

If you aren’t able to access HeinOnline remotely, visit the Wisconsin State Law Library, Milwaukee Legal Resource Center, or the Dane County Legal Resource Center, where HeinOnline is available on all public computer workstations.

Visit our tutorial for information on how to access HeinOnline from your office or home computer.

Learn More About HeinOnline

To learn more about effectively searching the many databases available on HeinOnline, visit HeinOnline’s educational resource center or watch training videos from their blog.

Up to Top

This Just In… - - Pete Boll

New Title! Reassignment Under the ADA: Must An Employer Hire a Minimally Qualified Disabled Employee Over a More Qualified, Non-Disabled Applicant?: A Legal Research Guide, by Amy R. Stein
William S. Hein & Co., 2009
Call Number: KF 3469 .S75 2009

Newly released in the Hein Company’s Legal Research Guide Series, this short, easy to digest volume is a good place to start researching the specific area of employee reassignment under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The beginning sections provide background on the origins and purpose of the ADA as well as tips on formulating research strategy. Chapters are then broken up into Secondary Sources (law reviews, treatises, legal encyclopedias), Primary Sources (Federal Statutes and Regulations, U.S. Supreme Court cases, and lower court cases), and Computer Research (Westlaw and Lexis). In the chapter on computer research, specific databases and searches using natural language and terms and connectors are suggested.

New Edition! Kohn on Music Licensing, by Al Kohn and Bob Kohn
Aspen Law and Business, 2010
4th edition
Call Number: KF 3035 .K64 2010

First published as The Art of Music Licensing, USA Today calls Kohn on Music Licensing "The bible of legal issues in the music world. " This 4th edition explains the music licensing process from both sides. Publishers, songwriters, and copyright holders can lean how to obtain optimum value for a musical property. Those seeking to clear rights on a product or performance will learn how to obtain permission under favorable contract terms. Practical negotiating strategies assist all parties in realizing their objectives regarding royalty rates, duration, territory and scope of use. More than 160 model forms for terms and conditions are also provided on the enclosed CD.

New Edition! Value of Pensions in Divorce, by Marvin Snyder.
Wolters Kluwer Law and Business, 2010
4th edition
Call Number: KF 524 .S681

This latest edition provides guidelines for financial advisors, divorce attorneys, and pension actuaries through the various stages of the pension valuation process – from preliminary client interview to review of pension valuation reports, drafting of qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs), and cross- examination of expert witnesses. Mathematics are kept to a minimum, and legal principles and concepts of pension valuation are translated into plain English and illustrated with examples, sample court orders, and pension documents.

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.

Up to Top

Tech Tip in Brief – Heidi Yelk

Before You Recycle That Cell Phone…

Today’s wireless phones hold a tremendous amount of data: names, phone numbers, photos, text messages and more - just ask anyone who has ever lost one! For this reason, it’s important to take the time to "clean" your phone before donating or recycling it.

Experts recommend manually deleting stored information and also removing the SIM card from the phone. The owner’s manual (if you still have it) may provide specific information on deleting data. Recellular, a dealer of used cell phones, offers a free "data eraser" guide targeted specifically to the make and model of your phone. Another option is to seek help from your wireless provider’s customer service department. For more information, see the FTC’s consumer alert "411 on Disposing of Your Old Cell Phone" and PC Magazine’s Tips for Deleting Your Old Cell Phone Data.

Where to Recycle

The wireless industry is helping people recycle phones through their webpage, recyclewirelessphones.com. Here you can find a list of participating members with information on take-back programs.

Of course, many charities accept cell phones as well. Ask around to find one, or use this page to find a donation box near you.

Up to Top

Odds ‘n’ Endings – Connie Von Der Heide

Think Spring!

March brings longer hours of daylight, warmer temperatures, and...tax season. If you’re looking for online information to consult when preparing your taxes, check out our Taxation legal topics page. There you’ll find links to IRS and Wis. Dept of Revenue forms, publications, FAQs and much more. WSLL also has an extensive print collection in the area of taxation, which may be of interest to tax practitioners and attorneys. Search our online catalog or contact our Reference Desk for help in identifying print and/or online resources.

Please note that library staff cannot provide tax preparation assistance. For that kind of help, you would need to consult a qualified tax practitioner. This IRS webpage also describes free tax preparation services available to taxpayers who qualify. Check with your local public library, too – many libraries host volunteers who provide free tax prep assistance, or they might know of other tax help sites in your community.

Other March Notables

On March 7, 1876, the U.S. Patent Office granted Patent Number 174,465 to Alexander Graham Bell, covering "the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air accompanying the said vocal or other sounds."

Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 14.

March 14-20 is Sunshine Week, a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know. The observance is centered around March 16, the birthday of James Madison, who was a staunch advocate of openness in government and is widely regarded as the "father of the U.S. Constitution."

Up to Top