Course Casebooks and Supplemental Readings

Law students often ask the law librarians if the library has the required casebooks for current law school courses.  According to the law library's collection development policy, the library does not purchase law school casebooks.  The collection may contain older editions of the casebooks that were donated to the library or acquired by other means.  Students should not rely on the content in these older editions, as it may differ from the content in the newer editions listed in the course syllabi. 

Students also ask the law librarians for course supplemental readings suggested by professors.  These supplemental readings usually are found on the course TWEN site.  If you need help in locating supplemental readings on TWEN or in other resources, please stop by the circulation/reference desk, or call or e-mail the library for assistance.

Students also may want to do their own supplemental reading in a subject area.  The law library has many "hornbooks," or one volume, condensed treatises of law written for law students, that provide a synthesis or summary of one area of law.  These books can be valuable in obtaining background information or reviewing course topics.  You may search the Law Library's Lib Guide on Legal Treatises by topic, or ask for assistance in locating a hornbook at the circulation/reference desk.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Marsha Stacey)