Library & Technology

Duke University Law Library: Collection Development Policy by Type


U.S. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICIES BY TYPE

ADMINISTRATIVE CODES AND REGULATIONS

FEDERAL

Code of Federal Regulations

The library maintains a complete paper copy of the CFR since its beginning in 1936.
The library also has a copy of the CFR on microfiche beginning in 1985.
The Law Library is the only repository of old CFR's on the Duke campus.

The CFR is also available on Lexis since 1981 and on Westlaw since 1984.


Federal Register

The library has a complete set of the Federal Register on microfiche since 1936.
The library has a paper copy from 1936-1972.
The library maintains the current and prior year in paper.

The Federal Register is available on Lexis and Westlaw since 1980.


STATE

North Carolina

The library maintains one copy of the North Carolina Administrative Code in paper.

Other States

The library relies on Lexis and Westlaw except for North Carolina and Alaska.
The library retains some state administrative codes that are not available on line.
The UNC-Duke agreement on this is no longer active.

State Registers

State Registers are collected in accordance with the collection policy for state administrative codes.


MUNICIPAL CODES AND ORDINANCES

Selected North Carolina municipal ordinances are collected: Chapel Hill, Durham, Greensboro, and Raleigh. The Institute of Government at UNC has a larger collection.



ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS

FEDERAL

All administrative agency decisions that are available through the Federal Depository Library Program are selected. Publication and receipt are subject to the vagaries of the agencies and GPO. Greater reliance is now through electronic access via GPO access.

STATE

North Carolina administrative decisions are acquired. Administrative decisions from other states are not collected.



ATLASES

A current edition of one major world/international atlas, a gazetteer, and a road atlas is maintained.

Only current editions are maintained. Some older atlases are in oversized shelving on Level 1.


ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS

The law library currently has a subscription to the Hein microfiche for all state attorney general opinions. Date of coverage varies per state with the most generally beginning in 1979. Earlier opinions were collected and are maintained in paper for many states. Paper copies are only currently collected only for North Carolina.

State opinions are also available on Lexis and Westlaw.

U. S. Attorney General Opinions are available on Lexis and Westlaw since 1791.



BAR JOURNALS

The library collects bar journals issued by the ABA and ABA sections. The library subscribes to the Hein microfiches set for state bar journals. Earlier print editions of state bar journals are bound. (Most bound sets end around the mid 1980's). Current years are kept in paper until the microfiche arrives. The paper issues are then tossed. The ABA journal is maintained in paper and bound.



BIBLIOGRAPHIES

The library collects legal and law-related bibliographies. Annotated bibliographies are preferred.

Unannotated bibliographies are also purchased. Most bibliographies are maintained in reference, although those that may not be heavy use items are sent to the stacks. Older titles move to superseded reference.



CASEBOOKS

The library does not collect casebooks as a matter of policy unless:

  1. They are authored by faculty members and are added to the faculty collection.
  2. They are added as gifts to the collection.
  3. They are the only published material in a new area of law.
  4. They are specifically requested by faculty.

Paper supplements are not added. Only one copy of any edition is maintained.



CITATORS

The library primarily provides access to citators and updating cases through electronic means using Lexis Shepards and Auto Cite and Westlaw Key Cite and Insta Cite.
The library does maintain some print editions of Shepards Citators.

Regional and State Citators-
The library maintains print a print version of the Southeastern Citations and two copies of North Carolina Citations. For other regional and state reporter access, online access is through Lexis.

Federal and United States Citators-
The library maintains one print copy of all Federal and United States citators because of their frequent and heavy use by law school patrons and members of the Duke and local communities.

Special Subject Citators-
The library collects and maintains print editions of selected subject citators based on their relevance to the curriculum and research needs of the law school.
Currently the library subscribes to the following:

Use by Public and/or Attorneys

If a patron who does not fall under the law school's education contracts with Lexis or Westlaw and needs to have a case updated, a reference librarian may perform an online search using a designated commercial rate password. Such searches will be performed without charge.



CODES (Statutory)

FEDERAL CODES

The library maintains two copies of the official United States Code, one copy on reserve and one copy in the Federal Alcove.

The library maintains three copies of the U.S. Code Annotated, one on reserve, one in the Federal Alcove, and one in the level 3 stacks.

The library maintains one copy of the U.S. Code Service in the Federal Alcove.

One copy of the annotated codes is retained in Superseded Codes. The official United States Code is maintained in Documents on Level 1.

STATE CODES

State Codes are collected for all states and the District of Columbia.

Superseded state codes are kept on level one. One volume historical codes are kept on level 2 with the state collections. The library has some superseded state codes on microfiche, but beginning in 1992 only purchase North Carolina superseded codes on microfiche.



COMPACT DISKS

The library selects CD-ROM products according to their subject matter or title rather than as a format. Some CD-ROM's are acquired through the Federal Depository Library Program.

CD's are either networked for use by students and faculty or are made available for use on public workstations on Levels 1 and 3.

A decision to network a particular title is made at the selection process by the Collection Development Committee.

If a CD is not placed on the network, then the CD is stored according to the following policy:

  1. 1. CD's that come with published material are kept with the book or journal on the shelf in the designated location.
  2. 2. CD's that are archival or microfiche substitutes are stored in the microforms room on level one.
  3. 3. U.S. Government Documents that are distributed on CD are stored on level one, unless they are only published in CD and would have been in the reference collection as print copies. Then they are placed on reserve.
  4. 4. Other CD's not networked are placed on reserve.



CONSTITUTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION PROCEEDINGS

U. S. and state constitutions are collected in annotated form if available. Special works include Swindler's Sources and Documents of U.S. Constitutions and Oceana's Constitutions of the U.S. National and State.

Most of the annotated state codes held by the library included state constitutions with annotations.

The library has bound state constitutional convention proceedings for all states except Alaska (on microform), Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Vermont.

The library relies on Constitutions of the Countries of the World for foreign jurisdictions.



CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION

The library collects materials from North Carolina, but few other CLE materials from other states, unless faculty research interest is present. The library purchases selected course handbooks from PLI, relying on Westlaw for primary access and also collects some ALI-ABA materials.



COURSE EXAMINATIONS

Examinations given by Duke law professors are kept if provided by the professor. Those exams are also mounted on the library's web site for the semester that the course is being offered by that professor. Exams are available on the web site via the curriculum site or course homepage.

Examinations from other schools are not collected.

Paper versions are maintained and compiled by subject in binders. Earlier years are kept in bound volumes on reserve and in the archival collections.



COURT BRIEFS AND RECORDS

The library collects briefs in cases before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the North Carolina Supreme Court, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

U. S. Supreme Court

The library has microfiche records beginning with 255 U. S. 1. Beginning in 1950, the microfiche are organized by the docket number. Online access is available for all briefs beginning in 1979 on Lexis and Westlaw.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

The library has collected these on microfiche since 1984.

North Carolina Supreme Court

The library has bound volumes from 1928-1982. Beginning in 1982 they are available on microfiches. Any unbound paper copies are discarded when they are duplicated by microfiche.

North Carolina Court of Appeals

The library has bound volumes from 1968 through 1999. Unbound issues still arrive at random though the court said they would be discontinuing these.



COURT REPORTS

The library retains 2 copies of all sets of U. S. Supreme Court Reports:

United States Law Week

The library retains 2 copies of the National Reporter System

The library retains 1 copy of special subject reporters

The library maintains 1 copy of all published official state reports but does not get advance sheets for state reports except for North Carolina.



COURT RULES

Court rules are purchased for the federal and state courts.

The library also relies on Title 28 of the United States Code and its annotated services as well as treatises such as Wright and Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure and Moores' Federal Practice.

The library also maintains 1 copy of Federal Rules Decisions.

State court rules are part of the state code or purchased separately. West softcover court rules volumes are available for many states. Court rules are kept next to the state codes.



DICTIONARIES AND THESAURI

Legal Dictionaries

The library collects most legal English language dictionaries and thesauri, including Black's and Ballentine's in addition to others. The library also collects legal dictionaries from other foreign jurisdictions as well. Languages are selected to support the international programs of the law school.

General Dictionaries

The library selects general dictionaries, and maintains a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary

Superseded dictionaries are kept in Superseded Reference.



DIGESTS

The library purchases all available West digests for states, regions, and federal courts. Two copies of the Federal Digest series are maintained, one copy of the U. S. Supreme Court Digest, one copy of the U. S. Reports, Lawyers Edition are maintained.

The library maintains two copies of the Southeastern Digest and North Carolina Digest

The library does not purchase specialized digests except for the Bankruptcy and Education Law digests for the Bankruptcy and Education Law Reporters.

Superseded digests are not retained except for one copy of the North Carolina Digest.



DIRECTORIES

The library collects legal and law-related directories, including congressional, judicial, federal, and administrative directories.

The library selectively collects non-law directories. Primary reliance for non-law directories is on online services. (e.g. Ulrichs on Westlaw)

Older editions of directories are kept in Superseded Reference. For non-law directories, only the most recent superseded edition is retained.

The library purchases state bar directories for North Carolina, Alaska, and South Carolina. Some directories are added because they are received gratis with the bar journal subscription.



DISSERTATIONS AND THESES

Doctoral Dissertations

The library requests at least two unbound copies of each dissertation. The original should be accompanied by an abstract and an author's agreement form if the writer agrees to have the work sent to UMI for microfilming. The original is added to the Perkins Archive collection. The other copy is cataloged and added to the law library's Thesis collection.

Masters' Theses

The library requests at least two unbound copies of each thesis. The original is sent to Perkins to add to their Archive collection. The other copy is catalogued and added to the library's Thesis Collection.



ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Legal

The library retains one copy of Corpus Juris Secundum and American Jurisprudence 2d. The library does not collect state legal encyclopedias except for :

The library also has Strongs North Carolina Index CD product on the law school network.
(Strongs CD was cancelled March 2000)

Older national encyclopedias are retained in Unclassified while older state encyclopedias are kept with state materials.

General

The library selectively collects major general encyclopedias as well as authoritative encyclopedias in the social sciences and humanities. Earlier editions are retained.



FLOYD M. RIDDICK COLLECTION

The library collects legislative and parliamentary procedure materials through an endowment from Dr. Floyd M. Riddick , Parliamentarian Emeritus of the United States Senate and a Duke alumnus.

The Riddick Collection consists of autographed Senatorial materials and items from Dr. Riddick's personal collection.

General materials on parliamentary procedure and American government are integrated into the Library's classified collection.



FORM BOOKS

The library collects multijurisdictional form books broadly, both legal formbooks and practice and procedure form books. It also collects all North Carolina form books.

Forms from states other than North Carolina are generally not collected unless by specific request.

These are maintained in the Practice and Procedure Collection.

Superseded form books are discarded.



HORNBOOKS

Generally, the library maintains up to 3 copies of all West Hornbook publications. The latest editions are kept on reserve with earlier editions integrated into the classified stacks. Two copies of earlier editions are retained. If both student and practitioner's editions are published, one copy of the practitioner edition is generally published, sometimes more depending on demand.



LAW FOR THE LAYPERSON

One or two current books on subjects thought to be of interest to users are kept on Reserve. Titles should be national in scope, but those that are specifically for North Carolina are collected. Not all editions are purchased; periodic (3-5 years) purchases are recommended.

Superseded editions are transferred to the stacks.



LAW SCHOOL ALUMNI PUBLICATIONS

The library adds selected publications that are received gratis from law schools. They are:

The library binds these titles (incomplete if issues are missing).



LAW SCHOOL CATALOGS

Primary reliance is on individual law school web sites. Paper versions are not maintained. The Law School subscribes to a CD version of all law school catalogs which it maintains for archival research interests.

Some older catalogs are bound and shelved in locked shelving.



LAW SCHOOL EXAMS

The Law Library collects and maintains paper copies of final examinations contributed to the Library by Law School faculty. All exams for a given year are bound by year and kept in the Library archives collection. Examinations are also scanned and maintained in digital format and are password accessible to students on the Law School web site through the Library and Curriculum areas of the site. The digital versions of the examinations are also available to the Educational Technologies Department for linking from course homepages at the request of the course instructors.



LEGAL NEWSPAPERS

The Law Library subscribes to the following legal newspapers which are indexed in Legal Trac.

  1. Los Angeles Daily Journal
    The LADJ routes to Prof. Reppy and is not available online. Because of its national importance, and discussion of major cases it has archival interest and so we will maintain the microfiche copy. The library purchases the paper copy primarily for routing purposes, and the paper copy is discarded when the fiche arrives.


  3. New York Law Journal
    A paper subscription is kept primarily because the NYLJ routes to Professors Cox and Demott. After issues are returned from routing the paper version is tossed. Because the NYLJ is available on Lexis and Westlaw, we do not maintain a microfiche subscription after 1996. A daily version is also available at <<a href="http://www.nylj.com" target="_top" >http://www.nylj.com>.


  5. National Law Journal
    The NLJ routes to several people and 2 paper copies are subscribed to. Because the NLJ is a national paper and covers national stories and law firm information, the library maintains a microfiche subscription for archival purposes even though the NLJ is also available on Lexis and Westlaw.

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly- the library subscribes to two copies that are retained for one year in the North Carolina Alcove.



LEGISLATIVE DOCUMENTS

BILLS

North Carolina

When bound session laws are available, bills from that legislative session may be discarded. The "final disposition" pamphlet is retained. The law library relies on the University of North Carolina Institute of Government and State Legislative Library for bills and other legislative information.

The library does not collect bills from other states.

Federal

The library receives all Congressional Bills via microfiche but primary reliance is on Lexis and Westlaw and GPO access or Thomas.

SESSION LAWS

State

The library has a subscription to the Hein microfiche for all states. Coverage varies per state, but generally starts in 1979 for many states. Paper copies are maintained for North Carolina, California, and New York. Bound volumes of earlier years are maintained for all states.

Federal

The library maintains two sets of the United States Statutes at large. Slip laws are received through the Federal Depository Library Program but are discarded upon receipt of the bound volumes.



LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES

Federal

The library has some compiled legislative histories in the collection in print and microform. Access to these is through the online and card catalogs. Sets that simply reprint legislative documents are not collected. Some legislative histories are also available via Lexis and Westlaw.

State

The library does not collect legislative histories for state statutes. They are usually not published for North Carolina statutes. The Institute of Government at UNC has more resources in this area.
Another resource is the North Carolina Legislative Library.



LEGISLATIVE JOURNALS

Federal

The library collects the Congressional Record. Earlier years are maintained in paper or microfiche. Access is also available on Lexis and Westlaw since 1985.
The paper version is kept until the microfiche is received.

State

The library collects 2 copies of the North Carolina House and Senate Journals.



NEWSLETTERS

Newsletters are selected according to research interest. They are kept in the stacks and then discarded after a period of time.



NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

The library maintains a leisure reading collection of newspapers and magazines. New titles are added upon request and review by the collection development committee. Every effort is made to maintain a wide range of magazines that appeal to various interests.
Magazines in the leisure reading collection are not retained.

The following newspapers are collected in leisure reading:

Foreign language newspapers are sometimes collected upon request by faculty or students.

Newspapers are not maintained permanently.



PERIODICAL INDEXES

The library collects print versions of legal periodical indexes. The library collects other indexes on a case by case basis. Among the factors in deciding whether to collect an index in hard copy are: the electronic access of the index, interdisciplinary nature, and cost. The library also subscribes to electronic versions of legal periodical indexes.

The following periodical indexes are collected in hard copy:

  1. Canadian Abridgment to Canadian Legal Literature
  2. Criminal Justice Periodical Index
  3. Current Index to Legal Periodicals
  4. Current Legal Index
  5. Index to Canadian Legal Periodical Literature
  6. Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
  7. Index to Legal Periodicals
  8. Index to Periodicals Related to Law
  9. Library Literature

The library maintains electronic subscriptions to the following:

  1. Current Index to Legal Periodicals
  2. Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
  3. Legal Trac



PERIODICALS

The library maintains a collection of significant English and foreign language legal periodicals and specialized periodicals to support the research interests of faculty and the curriculum. The library collects all English language legal periodicals of a scholarly nature, as well as other English language periodicals of interest for research or current awareness. Foreign language legal periodicals are purchased selectively to support the defined collecting levels.

Academic Law Reviews

  1. One copy of all U.S. law school published journals is obtained and bound. Additional copies may be subscribed to and bound based on the following criteria:
    1. If a journal is routed to 1-2 faculty, 1 copy will be acquired and bound except for specifically named journals. (See list a. below).
    2. If a journal is routed to 3 or more faculty members, an additional copy will be acquired for routing purposes. Two copies will be bound.
    3. If a journal is routed to 7 or more faculty members, an additional copy will be acquired for routing to every 6 persons; i.e. 1 additional for 7-12 routes; 2 additional copies for 13-18, etc. Two copies will be bound except for major journals. (See list b. below).
  3. Three copies of all Duke Law School journals will be acquired and bound.
  4. Two copies of all other North Carolina law school journals will be acquired and bound.
  5. Two copies of selected professional journals will be acquired and bound. (See list c. below).
a. Georgetown Law Journal
   University of Illinois Law Review

b. Columbia Law Review
   Harvard Law Review
   Michigan Law Review
   Yale Law Review

c. ABA Journal
   American Journal of International Law
   American Journal of Comparative Law
   Journal of Legal Education


RARE BOOKS

Rare books are defined as books having value as an object, aside from or in addition to the intellectual value of the text. The law library considers non-American law books prior to 1800 and American law books prior to 1820 (serials) and 1870 (monographs) to be rare books.

The library does not generally purchase reprints of titles held as rare books unless it is in poor condition or may have wide circulation interest.

Rare books are purchased selectively according to subject interest and cost.



RADIO AND TELEVISION PROGRAMS

The library collects tapes of radio and television programs where faculty are featured speakers, panelists, subject of the program, or other integral part of the program. The library does not collect videotaped newscasts, commentaries, or news interviews where a faculty member has been asked to comment due to his/her expertise.

The library will purchase any tape meeting the requirements stated above. Due to copyright law, the library will not conduct its own taping of programs unless its is outside the scope of copyright; e.g. a congressional hearing.

If there is a question about whether or not a specific program meets the criteria above, the collection development committee will make the decision whether or not to purchase the tape.
Research Guides

The library collects guides to specialized legal materials and state compilations and guides to legal research.

The library collects selective law related guides, depending on potential use for the curriculum and availability at other campus libraries.



RESTATEMENTS AND MODEL CODES

The library maintains 2 copies of all restatements on reserve. Two copies of tentative drafts and other drafts are maintained as well.

The library maintains the Uniform Commercial Code and Model Penal Code as well.



STATE DOCUMENTS

Using various selection tools including, Monthly Checklist of State Publications, State Government Research Checklist, Checklist of Official North Carolina State Publications and other recommendations. The library selects state documents in the following subject areas:

Documents from other state agencies are not selected; patrons seeking such information are directed to Perkins Library, which maintains a collection of state documents from all 50 states in a variety of subject areas.



STATE MATERIALS (non North Carolina)

State treatise and practice materials are generally not purchased except in important subject areas to faculty or specific to the jurisdiction. (e. g. community property in California, for Professor Reppy, Louisiana law for a civil jurisdiction, and Delaware corporation law).



STUDY AIDS

The library does not purchase or maintain commercial study aids.
The library does collect some Sum and Substance audio tapes.
The library maintains 2 copies of all West nutshells on reserve.

The library collects the following series on standing order:


The library does not collect the following series:



U.S. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

The library is a selective depository for federal documents. In addition, the library obtains selected documents outside the depository system from individual agencies or the GPO sales program.

The library selects materials in the following areas:

The library limits its selection because Perkins Library selects about 80% of the items available to depository libraries. In addition, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is a regional depository.



VIDEOCASSETTES

The library purchases videocassettes if:

Videotapes of law school sponsored events including faculty presentations are collected.



WORKING PAPERS

NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH

The library retains paper copies through May 1999. The library primarily relies on electronic access to these through the NBER web site <<a href="http://www.nber.org" target="_top" >http://www.nber.org>.

AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION

The library maintains a standing order to American Bar Foundation Working Papers.

OTHER SERIES

The library selects other working papers on a selective basis.

1. University of Michigan Office of Tax Policy and Research
2. NYU Center for Law and Business



Updated 2/03



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