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In Custodia Legis
Official blog from the Law Library of Congress
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Find databases and eResources that provide legal and legislative information for the U.S. and around the globe. Access these items alphabetically by title or by topic. Note: The Library subscribes to a number of commercial databases related to legal research which are available to patrons while on-site in a Library of Congress Reading Room only. Check the availability for each item for more information.
General
| Name of Database/Web Site | Description | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Bluebook | Comprehensive guide to legal citation in the United States | Access for Law Library staff only |
| Bloomberg Law | Practitioner resources including, court dockets and documents, litigation analytics, sample forms. Secondary sources including Bloomberg BNA publications (current awareness sources and law reports), treatises from ABI, ABA, Wiley Press and others. Includes US federal and state case law, statutes, and regulations. Also includes BCite citator. | Access only available on one specific Library computer in the Law Library Reading Room |
| LexisNexis Library Express (external link) | Comprehensive coverage of US federal and state case law, statutes and regulations. Includes secondary source materials such as law reviews, newspapers, treatises and patent information. | On-site Only |
| Westlaw Patron Access | Comprehensive coverage of US federal and state case law, statutes, and regulations. Includes select secondary sources such as American Law Reports, legal encyclopedias, treatises, law review articles, 50 state surveys, legal forms, and Restatements. Also includes the citator KeyCite. | Access only available on Library computers in the Law Library Reading Room; limit of 3 simultaneous users |
Legislative and Statutory Resources
| Name of Database/Web Site | Description | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| American State Papers, 1789-1838 | Contains the legislative and executive documents of Congress for the period 1789 to 1838. | Free Access |
| Avalon Project (external link) |
Digital primary source documents selected by the Yale Law School relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. | Free Access |
| Congress.gov | Contains full-text of legislation from the 103rd Congress (1993) to the present and member profiles from the 93rd Congress (1973) to the present. | Free Access |
| Congressional Record (FDsys) (external link) | Contains the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress from Volume 140 (1994) to the present. | Free Access |
| CQ.com (external link) | Congressional Quarterly, including Congressional Weekly, provides in-depth legislative news and analysis of the United States Congress. | On-site Only |
| Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) (external link) | U.S. Department of State site presenting the official documentary historical record of major United States foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity, primarily covering 1945 to 1980. | Free Access |
| Guide to Law Online | Vast network of links to content-based Web sites of primary and secondary legal information from foreign jurisdictions and all U.S. federal, state and territorial government entities. | Free Access |
| Historical American Indian Constitutions and Legal Material | Digital copies of historical American Indian constitutions and other legal material, some in the vernacular languages of the tribes. | Free Access |
| LLMC Digital (external link) | Searchable databases of earlier primary U.S. federal and state government documents as well as various foreign jurisdictions and international organizations. | On-site Only |
| Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800 – 1926 (external link) | Searchable collection of Anglo-American legal treatises containing works from casebooks, local practice manuals, form books, works for lay readers, pamphlets, letters, speeches and more. | On-site Only |
| NCSL State Legislative Websites Directory (external link) | Searchable database providing links to Web sites of State Legislatures, Legislators and political developments. | Free Access |
| OYEZ (external link) | A multimedia database about the United States Supreme Court which includes audio files of oral arguments, abstracts of key constitutional cases, and information on Supreme Court justices. | Free Access |
| Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (FDsys) (external link) | Includes Deschler’s, Cannon’s, and Hinds’ Precedents; contains rulings made by the chair of the House of Representatives. | Free Access |
| ProQuest Congressional (external link) | Provides access to U.S. legislative information, including hearings, reports, prints, documents, bills, laws, regulations, and CIS Legislative Histories (1969-present). | On-site Only |
| ProQuest Legislative Insight (external link) | Provides various browsing and searching options for selected compiled legislative histories, for the 24th Congress (1835-1837) through the 112th Congress (2011-2013). | On-site Only |
| Supreme Court Library from HeinOnline (external link) | Includes complete coverage of published cases in official sources from 1754 to the last full calendar year for the United States Supreme Court. | On-site Only | United States Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832 - 1978 (Gale) (external link) | A collection of Supreme Court documents covering more than 150,000 distinct cases. | On-site Only |
| U.S. Congressional Serial Set (Readex) (external link) | Contains all the reports, documents, and journals of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, from the 15th Congress (1817) through the 97th Congress (1982). | On-site Only |
| U.S. Statutes at Large | Digital copies of the U.S. Statutes at Large, from Congress 1 (1789) through Congress 81 (1950). | Free Access |
Foreign, Comparative, and International Law
| Name of Database/Web Site | Description | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| ASIL Electronic Resource Guide (external link) | Electronic resource guide that sets out basic international law search strategies and lists resources on various topics. | Free Access |
| Audiovisual Library of International Law (external link) | Contains documents, tapes - both audio and video - and other materials on subjects of international law. | Free Access |
| Australasian Legal Information Institute Databases (external link) | AustLII contains primary legal and legislative materials for Australia and New Zealand. | Free Access |
| British and Irish Legal Information Institute Databases (external link) | BAILII contains primary legal and legislative materials for England and Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, United Kingdom, and the European Union. | Free Access |
| Canadian Legal Information Institute Databases (external link) | CanLII contains primary legal and legislative materials for Canada. | Free Access |
| DOINet | DOINet provides public legal documents for Brazil. | On-site Only |
| Oxford Constitutions of the World (external link) | Contains the full-text of constitutions from over 187 countries, including English translations and introductory and comparative notes. | On-site Only |
| Foreign Law Guide (external link) | Provides an overview of individual legal systems with references to current sources of codes and basic legislation for each jurisdiction. | Access only available in the Law Library |
| Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) (external link) | U.S. Department of State site presenting the official documentary historical record of major United States foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity, primarily covering 1945 to 1980. | Free Access |
| Human Rights Library (external link) | Digital copies of core human rights documents, including several hundred human rights treaties and other primary international human rights instruments. | Free Access |
| Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (via HeinOnline) (external link) | A multilingual subject index to legal articles and book reviews published in over 550 sources worldwide. | On-site Only |
| Institute for Transnational Law Foreign Law Translations (external link) | English translations of French, German, Austrian, and Israeli legal materials in the fields of constitutional, administrative, contract and tort law. | Free Access |
| Law nB – Korean Law Database (external link) | Provides access to cases, statutes and other legal references for Korea. | Access only available in the Law Library |
| London Gazette Archive (external link) |
An official newspaper of record in the United Kingdom for publishing legal notices, including insolvency (bankruptcy) notices. | Free Access |
| Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (external link) | Comprehensive work covering the central and essential topics in international law since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. | On-site Only |
| NATLEX (external link) | Contains over 55,000 records covering over 170 countries and territories on national labour, social security and related human rights legislation. | Free Access |
| RDB de Rechtsdatenbank (external link) | Provides access to a large number of Austrian legal journals, collections of cases, and other resources related to the laws of Austria. | Access only available in the Law Library |
| World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII) (external link) | Provides access to worldwide law from countries in six continents. | Free Access |
Legal Periodicals and Indexes
Most of the databases listed below are journal indexes that may provide the full-text of a journal article. Indexes list bibliographic information about the article such as: article title, author, journal name, volume, issue, page number, date and subject headings or descriptors.
If the full-text of an article does not appear in your results, check to see if there is a 
button next to the bibliographic information. If so, use this reference tool to help locate a copy of the article, either in print (through the Online Catalog or electronically (by pointing you to an alternative online full-text database).
| Name of Database/Web Site | Description | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Find It! Article Finder | Library of Congress tool to help you locate the full-text of an article by providing citation information. | Internet |
| HeinOnline (external link) | Offers a full-text searchable database of law reviews and journals. | On-site Only |
| Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (via HeinOnline) (external link) | A multilingual subject index to legal articles and book reviews published in over 550 sources worldwide. | On-site Only |
| Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text (1981-present) | Covers over 1,000 legal journals, yearbooks, law reviews, and more from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. | On-site Only |
| Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective (1908-1981) | Index to over 750 legal periodicals, including law reviews, bar association journals, and government publications. | On-site Only |
| LegalTrac (external link) | Index to more than 2,400 titles including major law reviews, legal newspapers, bar association journals and international legal journals. | On-site Only |
Treaties
| Name of Database/Web Site | Description | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Congress.gov | Contains full-text of legislation from the 103rd Congress (1993) to the present and member profiles from the 93rd Congress (1973) to the present. | Free Access |
| Human Rights Library (external link) | Digital copies of core human rights documents, including treaties and other primary international human rights instruments. | Free Access |
| Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties (external link) | Digital copies of documents dealing with the legal status and laws, government relations, and treaties of North American Indians. | Free Access |
| Indigenous Law Portal | Links to legal documents, including full-text constitutions, charters and, other legal material. | Free Access |
| Treaties and Agreements Library from HeinOnline (external link) | Includes both official and unofficial primary treaty resources in addition to helpful guides. | On-site Only |
| United States Treaty Series | Digital copies of historical treaties (1795-1945) compiled by Charles I. Bevans. | Free Access |
Regulatory Information
| Name of Database/Web Site | Description | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| The Federal Register Collection/Code of Federal Regulations (via HeinOnline) (external link) | Provides search and browse options to the PDF of the Federal Register and Federal Register Index back to 1936; the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) back to 1938; and details on C.F.R. sections affected back to 1949. | On-site Only |
| CyberRegs (external link) | Provides the full-text of the US Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, state registers, state statutes and forms, and state environmental, safety, health and transportation regulations. | On-site Only |
| Federal Register | Provides the full-text of the Federal Register, volumes 1-58, 1936-1993. | Free Access |
| ProQuest Regulatory Insight | Includes compiled regulatory "histories" of U.S. federal regulations promulgated pursuant to specific U.S. Public Laws. Covers U.S. federal administrative law histories for the period 1936-2017 organized by federal statute and Executive Order. This includes Federal Register documents, Code of Federal Regulations documents, and Executive Orders. | On-site Only |
| Regulations.gov (external link) | Allows for browsing and searching of proposed and final federal regulations, submitted comments regarding proposed regulations, supporting agency documentation, and reports related to regulations. | Free Access |
Last Updated: 10/29/2018
