University of San Diego School of Law
Legal Research Center
Faculty Assistance
Reference Guide
Reference Questions: call x 4612
Or e-mail us at lrcref@sandiego.edu
Find the right person for what you need!
The LRC Reference Desk is “information central” for the faculty.
Call x4612 or e-mail lrcref@sandiego.edu
Reference desk hours are: Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday - Sunday Noon - 4 p.m.
Our reference librarians are skilled research instructors and can offer you or your students instructional library tours or in-class research presentations. Subject-specific Lexis, Westlaw, or Internet research training can also be arranged. We need two-weeks notice to prepare for a class. Call Associate Director Ruth Levor (x 4604) or John Adkins, Head of Public Services (x 4766), to arrange a presentation.
The LRC offers special assistance to increase the effectiveness of your research assistants. We will guide researchers to the best sources, give special cite checking instruction and aid them in performing practical tasks for you. Refer your student assistant to the LRC Reference Desk, or call John Adkins at x4766.
GETTING MATERIALS . . .TO YOU!
DELIVERIES AND ROUTING
Many LRC periodicals can be regularly routed to you, and books and other materials delivered to your office upon request by calling the Reference Desk at x4612.
The LRCPlus service offers photocopies of articles and cases in the LRC collection delivered to you within 48 hours. An electronic request form is available at http://www.sandiego.edu/lrc/about/lrcplus.php; printed forms are available at the Reference Desk. Questions? Call John Adkins at x4766 or e-mail lrcplus@sandiego.edu.
Upon request, the LRC will route the Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP) and Current Publications in Legal and Related Fields. A computer file of the CILP, including a personalized version called Smart CILP, can be sent to your office computer if you prefer the electronic version. For more information on these services, call John Adkins, Head of Public Services, at x4766.
ORDERING BOOKS
With over 520,000 volumes, the LRC collection meets most faculty needs, but we will gladly order additional materials within our collection profile. Upon request, items are ordered on a rush basis and processed for your use on the day of arrival.
Contact Sushila Selness at x6813 or e-mail selness@sandiego.edu
FINDING BOOKS & OTHER MATERIALS ONLINE
SALLY, the online library catalog, lists all books, journals, microforms, government documents, videotapes and audiotapes owned by the USD libraries. SALLY is accessible from your office computer, via the LRC webpage at http://sally.sandiego.edu/.
Another two million library titles are available to USD researchers through the San Diego Circuit Library Consortium (“the Circuit”). If a title is not found on SALLY, follow the on-screen directions to repeat the search in the Circuit catalog, which combines library holdings at UCSD, SDSU, Cal State San Marcos and USD. To request a Circuit book, follow the on-screen directions. The barcode number on your USD identification card is your borrower authorization. Expect 24 hour delivery in most instances. For all questions about using SALLY and the Circuit, contact the Reference Desk at x4612.
LEXIS, WESTLAW & OTHER DATABASES
Lexis and Westlaw are accessible through the Internet on your office computer. Upon request, we will set up an automatic tracking system for your Lexis or Westlaw research issues. Print jobs sent to the laser printers in the LRC are delivered the next weekday. The LRC also subscribes to many other databases, including:
- CALI (Computer Assisted Legal Instruction)
- CCH Tax Network
- Hein Online (pdf files of law reviews and many other resources)
- InterAm (Latin American database)
- Interactive Courtroom
- LegalTrac (electronic index of legal periodicals since 1980)
- Social Science Research Network (scholarly works in progress)
- United Nations READEX Documents Index
From the Copley Library webpage, legal researchers may access a variety of general electronic resources, online periodical indexes, and some full-text databases.
For passwords and training in the use of databases, home access, and all other electronic resource questions, contact Owen Smith, Head of Electronic Services, at osmith@sandiego.edu or by calling x4759.
RESERVE MATERIALS & INTERLIBRARY LOAN SERVICES
Contact the Circulation Desk at x4542 to place materials on reserve for your classes. Items will be ready for student use within 24 hours.
Materials not available in our library can be searched through the Circuit Consortium, which contains the holdings of USD, SDSU, UCSD, and Cal State San Marcos. (See FINDING BOOKS...)
If materials are not available on the Circuit, we will search national library databases to obtain your request via interlibrary loan. Electronic interlibrary loan request forms are available at http://www.sandiego.edu/lrc/about/interlibrary.php. Questions about the Circuit or Interlibrary Loan? Contact the Reference Desk at x4612.