Literature search clinics: one-to-one sessions

Do you need help with your research? Have you got yourself into a muddle using legal resources online? Do you just need to know what you need to know?

Book a one-to-one meeting with one of the Law Librarians to discuss your research issues or library problems. In previous one-to-ones we’ve helped students with:

  • search strategies
  • using our subscription databases
  • finding international case law
  • finding historical Scots material online (specifically the Institutional Writers)
  • referencing (specifically using OSCOLA)
  • setting up news alerts for cases or legislation

We arrange appointments once a fortnight using the MyEd booking system. Search for “Literature search clinic” and select the Law specific event, or search for “Law” and select provider group “IS Library and University Collections” to find all our Law related training. Future dates include:

  • 18th March (currently booked)
  • 6th April
  • 22nd April
  • 3rd May
  • 20th May

We release appointments approximately three weeks before the meeting, and all meetings are currently held online via Microsoft Teams with links sent out the week before the appointment. If you cannot see an available meeting slot that suits you please email law.librarian@ed.ac.uk and we will arrange an appointment to suit.

Two silver coloured tin cans are connected by a string. The open end of one can faces the viewer, while the open end of the other faces the right side of the picture. The cans are lying down on a cream marbled background.

Chris Potter, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Dissertation Festival: Monday 8th – Friday 19th March 2021

  • Do you want to find out more about the library resources available to support your dissertation question?
  • Are you interested in learning how to manage the bibliographic and research data you’ve found?

Join us in a fortnight of online events and find out what the Library can do for you to help you succeed with your dissertation.

  • Make your dissertation something special : find out about the fantastic collections available at the Centre for Research Collections
  • Discover the full range of digital resources that you can access via the University
  • Take the first steps to learn new skills in managing your bibliographic references and your research data

We know that in Law your dissertation period starts later in Semester Two, but it’s never too early to start planning and see what resources are out there! We’ll also be recording many live sessions which will be available to watch back at a time that suits you.

Find out more at: https://edinburgh-uk.libguides.com/dissertation

For more information about how the library can support your dissertation or research project, contact us by emailing law.librarian@ed.ac.uk, or book a one-to-one appointment with us using the MyEd booking system: search for ‘law’ and find the listing for ‘literature search clinic’.

A person is standing in front of a wall with his back to the camera. The wall is covered with bits of white paper showing images, notes and text, suggesting he is organising his thoughts and constructing a plan.

Forward planning is important! (Image from pexels on pixabay)

New Scan & Deliver Service

The semester has been a busy start for everyone!

Due to government restrictions there have been limits placed on accessing our print resources, but as of the 18th January a new Scan & Deliver service is in operation.

The service offers staff and students of the University of Edinburgh the opportunity to request scans of one book chapter or 10% (whichever is the greater) or one journal article via DiscoverEd. The library will then email you a link which you can use to view and download the material. There are some limits (as we have to abide by copyright law), but it is worthwhile considering as an option for initial access to key section(s). Full details of the service are available on the dedicated webpages:

Scan & Deliver pages.

It is also worth remembering that for material we do not have within the library collections there is the interlibrary loan service (ILL). As with many library services we are operating within an online environment at the moment, but for book chapters and articles it may be possible to request a copy through this service.

Interlibrary Loan Service (ILL) pages

1-2-1 Librarian Meetings

The Law Academic Support Librarians have arranged some 1-2-1 bookable sessions for students. The time can be used for any library related query. Sessions will be advertised about 3 weeks in advance, but details of the upcoming ones are available on the MyEd Events Bookings.

Welcome back, and the Law Library during Lockdown

A pair of hands hold a tablet with an image of shelves of books displayed on the screen.

Digital Library, from Geralt on Pixabay

Hello, and welcome back! This semester is set to be another strange one as we begin in ‘lockdown’ conditions in line with Scottish Government restrictions. This means that for the next few weeks the library will be running an online service with many physical buildings closed or with only very restricted access. Full information about the availability of library sites can be found on the Library Service Updates page.

If you feel a bit stressed about the availability of materials over the coming weeks and months, rest assured we will continue to work to make sure that all core material is available electronically and that we have as much ebook access to the things you need as possible.

We’re running a few online sessions in the coming weeks to help you refamiliarise yourself with online library services. One of these is a refresher session on the 27th January 2021, between 9.30 and 10am, and is open to students at all levels. We will provide a short update on library services, some key resources that you may not already be familiar with, and will have time to answer your questions too. You can book a place for this online event here, or by searching in the MyEd Events Booking system for ‘Library Services Refresher Session – Law’

We’ll also be running an introductory event for new PG Online students beginning in January 2021, and a repeat of our popular PhD Using the Library session which we last ran in September. For booking information please follow the links or get in touch with us via law.librarian@ed.ac.uk.

Finally you can also attend the Library Bitesize sessions which we’ll be running in the coming weeks, focused on Using the Online Library. For links to this and all other Library Bitesize sessions please see the Events Booking system.

We hope that you managed to enjoy your festive break and that you’re managing to proceed with your studies as planned. We look forward to helping support your studies online over the coming semester. As ever if there’s anything we can do to set your minds at ease please let us know!

Referencing and Beyond Reading Lists

Last week the Law Librarians held a Referencing training session- focussing on OSCOLA!

If you didn’t get a chance to come along then don’t worry as we will be uploading the recording on to the Law Librarians Media Hopper Channel very soon.

 


Another date for your diary….

On the 2nd December at 9am there will be a Beyond your Reading List session- looking at where else you may find useful and relevant information.

Details are available on the events booking at https://www.events.ed.ac.uk/index.cfm?event=book&scheduleID=44060 

screenshot of presentation

Dissertation Festival: 26th October – 6th November

Dissertation Festival promotional image, including dates of the event and a link to Subject Guide. Are you writing a dissertation this year? Do you want to find out more about the library resources available to support your dissertation?

From the 26th October to the 6th November 2020 we have a fortnight of online events which will highlight what the Library can do for you to help you succeed with your dissertation.

One of the events we’re holding is a Dissertation Fair which showcases library resources and services which support CAHSS students specifically on Thursday 29 October. You can:

  • Make your dissertation something special : find out about the fantastic collections
    available at the Centre for Research Collections
  • Discover the full range of digital resources that you can access via the University
  • Take the first steps to learn new skills in managing your bibliographic references and your research data

For details of how to book this or any of our other events please visit the Dissertation Festival Subject Guide: https://edinburgh-uk.libguides.com/dissertation

Not available to attend live sessions, or feel that your dissertation is still too far away to plan for? Don’t worry! Most live sessions will be recorded and made available after the Dissertation Festival to be used asynchronously at a time that suits you. The Subject Guide will be updated after the events have taken place with more information.

 

Training Sessions- Diary Dates

Learn something new or simply refresh your memory!

There are a couple of online training sessions coming up soon that you may find useful:

Using Law Databases (Library Bitesize)-  Wednesday 21st Oct 2020, 12:30- 13:00.  Bookable through MyEd Events and Training: https://edin.ac/2FXpv1q 

Referencing for Law-                        Wednesday 11th Nov 2020, 09:00- 10:30. Bookable through MyEd Event and Training: https://edin.ac/312Roiq

Welcome!

Welcome to the Law Librarians’ blog, where we will post helpful resources, training materials and news from the library.

Our names are Donna Watson and SarahLouise McDonald, and we are the Academic Support Librarians for the School of Law at the University of Edinburgh.

If there’s anything you’d like to see feature on our blog in future please contact us by leaving a comment, or emailing law.librarian@ed.ac.uk.

students exiting the Law Library building in Old College quad

Law Library exterior, Old College