Question:
How do I search Library Search (formerly Summon) for legal resources?
Our answer:
What is Library Search (formerly Summon)?
Like Google? You’ll love Library Search! It's fast, it’s simple, and it's available from the Online Library.
Do you like the simplicity of searching the internet for journal articles, but are unsure of the quality and reliability of your results? If so, then Library Search is for you! Library Search is the Online Library search engine that allows you to search your Online Library databases for scholarly journal articles and eBooks with the ease of a Google-like single search box. Library Search searches across your Online Library databases, then links to the full text of journal articles, eBooks, newspapers and more. The Library Search Guide contains a video tutorial and guidance on searching Library Search.
Library Search (formerly Summon) and searching the Legal Databases
Library Search is a good starting point for your research. Library Search will help you locate available e-books, journal articles, and newspaper articles. However, it does not search all available legal journals, and it does not search for cases and legislation. If you do not find what you are looking for in Library Search you can search the databases directly from your Study Programme gateway.
Westlaw contains the legal journals index which is not searched by Library Search. Search the Westlaw journals database as well as searching Library Search to discover journal articles for your research. The Legal Journals Index contains the abstracts of journal articles, but not the full text. Searching the legal journals index helps you to widen the scope of your research especially when looking for articles on a particular topic. However, the full-text of journal articles are often available in alternative Online Library databases. To find out if a journal (or law report) is available in the Online Library search the Publications Search by journal title.
To find cases and legislation search vLex Justis, Westlaw and Lexis+.
vLex Justis is a good starting point for locating cases.
If a law report is not available in vLex Justis itself, select the citations and sources tab to find out where the case was reported, and link to it in an alternative Online Library database.
Find out more in the vLex Justis Quick Start Guide.
Try Library Search for yourself, take a look at the Library Search Guide, or find out about Library Search here.