If you're stuck in your research, use our Ask a Librarian service to get help from a librarian.

I need to know what the law says — or what it used to say.

• Primary sources:
  • Statutes
  • Session laws
• Secondary sources:
  • Legal encyclopedias

I need a basic understanding of a legal concept.

• Secondary sources:
  • Legal encyclopedias
  • Nutshells

I need to find cases on a certain topic.

• Primary sources:
  • Digests
  • Case law databases like Westlaw Next or Lexis Advance
• Secondary sources:
  • Legal encyclopedias
  • Treatises

I need a thorough explanation and analysis of an area of law.

• Secondary sources:
  • Treatises
  • Legal periodicals

I need advice about what to do, but I don't want an attorney.

• Secondary sources:
  • Self-help books

I need to know what forms to file.

• Secondary sources:
  • Practice guides
  • Form books

I have a general area of law I want to research, but I don't know where to start.

• Primary sources:
  • Annotated statutes
• Secondary sources:
  • Legal encyclopedias
  • Nutshells

I need to know the latest developments in a field of law.

• Primary sources:
  • Session laws
  • Case law databases like Fastcase, Westlaw Next or Lexis Advance
• Secondary sources:
  • Legal periodicals

I need to know about a certain agency's responsibility for enforcing the law

• Primary sources:
  • Administrative law