Monday, March 24, 2014

Legal Reference for Librarians: How and Where to Find the Answers

Healey, Paul D. Legal Reference for Librarians: How and Where to Find the Answers. Chicago: ALA, 2014. 025.52 Heale.  ISBN 978-0-8389-1117-4

In recent years the number of Americans who have decided to handle their own legal affairs without the help of a lawyer has skyrocketed. Ranging from people writing their own wills or drafting a contract to those trying to represent themselves in court, they're going to public and academic libraries for answers. As both an attorney and a librarian, Healy's background makes him uniquely qualified to advise library staff on providing users with the legal information they seek, and in this handbook, he

•    Provides a concise orientation on legal research, including strategies for finding information quickly and a handpicked compendium of the best resources
•    Offers guidance on how to provide advice on legal research while steering clear of liability
•    Covers federal legal reference as well as all 50 states, with a comprehensive list of web-based legal resources
Library staff can provide valuable and ethical legal reference guidance with the practical guidance in this book.