Databases
NOTE: Not all of these databases are accessible off campus. To access most databases that are available off campus, a proxy is required. As a result, those members of the Western New England College School of Law community who are off campus will need to enter their user name, library barcode number, and PIN number for those particular databases.
**If you have any problems accessing these databases, please (1) verify that cookies are not disabled, (2) try lowering the security level on your browser, or (3) try using a different browser. If you are still having problems, please contact the Research Services Department at 413-782-1458.
BNA Databases
Casemaker
CALI (Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction
Chronicle of Higher Education
Constitutions of the Countries of the World Online
Courtroom Connect
Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP)
Foreign Law Guide
Health and Human Resources
HeinOnline
IndexMaster
Journal of Sport and Social Issues
Legal Periodicals & Books
LegalTrac
LexisNexis
LexisNexis Congressional
LLMC-Digital
Loislaw
NELLCO
RefWorks
Social Law Library's Administrative Law Databases
Treaties and International Agreements Online
United Nations Treaty Series
Westlaw
WorldCat
BNA Databases
The Law Library subscribes to the "BNA-ALL" plan, which provides us with access to most all of BNAs online publications. Note that email alerts are also available for members of the Western New England College School of Law community. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
Casemaker
Casemaker is a web-based legal research library and search engine that allows Massachusetts Bar Association members to search and browse a variety of state and federal case law, state statutes and regulations, ethics opinions, rules of professional conduct, and much more. Use of Casemaker is free to all MBA members who have paid the current years dues. The Library has five passwords which can be provided to law students and used in the Library only. Stop by the reference desk and a Librarian will give you a password. Accessible off campus.
CALI (Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction
CALI contains more than 600 computer-based lessons in 32 different educational subject areas. Lessons may be accessed in two ways: 1) students with Internet connections can download most CALI exercises directly to their computers from the CALI website; 2) students can run the selected exercises available directly from the CALI website. CALI is restricted to the Western New England College School of Law community. Contact the Reference Desk at 782-1458 to get the authorization code to register on the CALI website. During the registration process you will also create your own password. In subsequent visits to use lessons, you will only need to enter your email address and your password. To register, go tothe CALI homepage and click on the Not a registered user yet? link. Accessible off campus.
Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education database covers higher education news and issues, and is a major source of employment information. The Chronicles site includes the complete text of the print version (posted every Monday morning) and a searchable job listings database. This database offers daily news updates, online discussion forums, and special reports. A searchable archives dating back to September 1989 is available, along with a browseable archives dating back to 1995. To subscribe to the various e-mail newsletters, click on the "Email Alerts" button on the front page. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
Constitutions of the Countries of the World Online
Constitutions of the Countries of theWorld Online provides access to 192 country constitutions with extensive commentary from leading scholars. Original English translations are provided. Users are able to search for topics across all nations. This database is limited to one user at a time. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
Note: When accessing this database you will get a prompt "The name on the security certificate is invalid or does not match the name of the site"; Click "Yes."
Courtroom Connect
The Library subscribes to AudioCaseFiles, a service of Courtroom Connect, which offers audio opinions as an educational and training tool for the legal community. AudioCaseFiles offers audio opinions of more than 1,000 cases and new content is added daily. Users may browse by subject, casebook, or by recent popular cases. Accessible off campus.
How do I sign up?
Use the registration page to sign up for a free AudioCaseFiles account. During registration, you must indicate that our law school is a member and select our school from the dropdown box. You must register using your WNEC email address [ending wnec.edu]. When registration is complete, Courtroom Connect will send you an activation email. Click the link in the email, and your account will be activated. If you have further questions or you experience problems signing up, please send an email message. Note that supported web browsers are: Internet Explorer 6 or 7, Mozilla Firefox 2 or 3, and Apple Safari 3. If you do not remember your law school email address contact the Office of Information Technology help desk at 782-2200.
Once I’ve registered, how do I access the audiofiles:
- LISTEN TO THE OPINION: From a Library PC or your own PC, click on “Listen to the Opinion.” If you are in the Library, check out headphones from Circulation to listen to an audiofile.
- DOWNLOAD THE OPINION: From your own PC, click on “Download Audio Opinion.” You can play the files directly from your computer using software such as iTunes, Quicktime, or Windows Media Player. You can also use any platform or device that supports MP3 playback, such as iPod, iPhone, Zune and almost every other audio device.
Can I make copies of AudioCaseFiles content?
Content at AudioCaseFiles.com is copyrighted. Courtroom Connect subscribes to the Fair Use Privilege of copyright law and does not prohibit copying content for personal use. Examples of copying files for personal use include:
- transferring case files to a portable music player, such as an iPod, cell phone, or other MP3-capable device
- burning files to an audio CD for playback in a home stereo or car CD player
- making backup copies of content to protect against hardware failure or data loss.
Replication and distribution of content to anyone other than the original user constitutes copyright infringement.
Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP)
This database provides table of contents and subject indexing for recently published periodicals. CILP is issued on Fridays and provides information four to six weeks earlier than other commercial legal periodical indexes. Users should select the issue they want to view and select the format they desire: HTML, MS Word, or PDF. The HTML version directly links from the cited articles to the electronic version of the article on either Westlaw or LexisNexis. The MS Word link enables users to download a Microsoft Word version of the file, in two columns, for printing. The PDF link requires Adobe Acrobat to view. The Current Index to Legal Periodicals database is restricted to the Western New England College School of Law community. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
Foreign Law Guide: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World
Containing information on more than 189 jurisdictions, this database is designed to locate primary and secondary sources of foreign law and is an excellent starting point for finding foreign law both in the language of the country and in translation. For each country there is a brief introduction to the legal system, a list of past and current sources of legal information including both print and online and a section listing sources of law by subject.The search interface allows you to search the database for words or phrases by country. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
Health and Human Resources (CCH Internet Research Network)
This database provides regulations, caselaw, administrative decisions, forms, and commentary related to the following fields: human resources management; payroll; pension and benefits; employment law; workplace safety; workers compensation; food, drugs, and cosmetics; and health law. Users must register using a Law School email address to use this database. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
HeinOnline
HeinOnline is a digital collection of legal materials organized into a variety of modules. View a module by clicking its link. HeinOnline modules may be browsed or searched. A high-quality image of each page is provided. Once you are viewing a document, use the Print Options link located in the toolbar just above the document to print or download the current page or the entire document. Documents may be printed or downloaded as pdf files. HeinOnline adds citation information to the footer of each page. HeinOnline does not provide an option for emailing documents. Once you have saved a document in pdf format, use your email provider to email the document as an attachment. This database is restricted to the Western New England College School of Law community. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
IndexMaster
IndexMaster is a compilation of the indices and/or tables of content of over 10,000 legal titles from over 90 legal publishers. This searchable resource offers a good way to locate secondary legal titles. Indexmaster is restricted to the Western New England College School of Law community. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
Journal of Sport and Social Issues
The Journal of Sport and Social Issues provides current research, discussion and analysis on contemporary sport issues, using an international, interdisciplinary perspective. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
Legal Periodicals & Books
This resource allows users to search law periodicals as far back as 1908. "Legal Periodicals & Books" is a bibliographic database that indexes articles from legal periodicals and law books; coverage spans from 1982 to the present. "Legal Periodicals Retrospective" indexes legal periodicals from 1908-1981. Both of these databases are accessible through Index to Legal Periodicals & Books. Users may select "Legal Periodicals and Books" and/or "Legal Periodicals Retro" from the main screen. Legal periodicals indexed include law reviews, bar association journals, university publications, yearbooks, and institute and government publications. This index is restricted to the Western New England College School of Law community. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
LegalTrac
LegalTrac is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from law reviews, bar journals, legal newspapers and other legal periodicals. Coverage spans from 1980 to the present. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
LexisNexis
You must have a valid LexisNexis password to access this database. Accessible off campus.
LexisNexis Congressional
LexisNexis Congressional provides access to legislative and regulatory information from the United States government. Users can search CIS indexing and abstracting of Congressional publications and the CIS Legislative Histories (1969/1970-present). Users can also search the full text of Congressional reports, documents, prints, bills, and the Congressional Record (coverage varies); find Congressional testimony (1985-present); and track bills as they move through the House and Senate.
Access to the Congressional Indexes Historical Module is also available. This provides indexing from the following sources: Published Hearings (1824-1969); Unpublished Hearings, House (1824-1972); Unpublished Hearings, Senate (1824-1984); Committee Prints (1830-1969); Committee Reports (1789-1969); House and Senate Documents (1789-1969); Senate Executive Documents and Reports not included in the Serial Set (1817-1969); Serial Set Indexing (1789-1969).
Access to the U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection is also available, providing full-text of all material located in the CIS U.S. Serial Set collection on microfiche. Coverage is from 1789-1969, including the American State Papers, and all maps, illustrations, photos, and lithographs found within the U.S. Serial Set during this time period.
Access to the LexisNexis Congressional Research Digital Collection Historical Archive is also available, and provides full text of Congressional Research Service Reports (1916-present), and Committee Prints (1830-present). User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
LLMC-Digital
LLMC-Digital is a non-profit cooperative effort to preserve titles of interest to researchers in the areas of law and history. The current database includes U.S. Federal Executive, Judicial, and Legislative materials from the collections of the Law Library Microform Consortium. The database is restricted to the Western New England College School of Law community. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
Loislaw
Loislaw by Wolters Kluwer is an alternative to using Lexis and Westlaw. It is a comprehensive research tool that enables users to find relevant legal documents for research needs, and consists of federal and state libraries that contain case law, statutory law, constitutions, administrative law, court rules, and other authority, depending on the jurisdictions. The data in Loislaw has been officially issued by the respective court, legislature, or agency. Information Loislaw receives electronically is usually available online within 72 hours of receipt. It is restricted to the Western New England Law School community. Students need to register online and include our school’s special access code; they will then receive their Loislaw user ID and password. Contact Renee Rastorfer for the access code. Accessible off campus.
NELLCO
The Library is a member of NELLCO. Membership includes all academic law libraries in New England, the Social Law Library in Boston, two state court library systems (Massachusetts and Connecticut), the Connecticut State Library, the Rhode Island State Law Library, and many law libraries throughout the country. Through this membership, the Librarians may be able to obtain from one of these libraries, on interlibrary loan, materials that are not available in our Library. Connecting to this page will provide access to a NELLCO online public catalog. Accessible off campus.
RefWorks
This database allows users to collect bibliographic information during the research process, organize it, insert it into word processing documents, and generate formatted bibliographies. Audiovisual and print tutorials are available online. Users must register a personal login and password; during registration and for off-campus access, a group code is also required (RWWNEC). Contact the Reference Desk (413-782-1458) for assistance. Accessible off campus.
Social Law Library’s Administrative Law Databases
These databases contain cases from the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), the Code of Massachusetts Regulations and a variety of other administrative databases. Social Law Library’s Administrative Law Databases are restricted to the Western New England School of Law community. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.
Treaties and International Agreements Online
Treaties and International Agreements Online contains the full text of U.S. Treaties and International Agreements from 1783-present. Treaties to which the U.S. is not a party is also available. The database is restricted to the Western New England College School of Law community. When using Internet Explorer users may see the following message: "Content was blocked because it was not signed by a valid security certificate." If this happens, click on the message bar to display blocked content. When using Firefox users may see the following message: "Secure Connection Failed." If this happens, click on "Exceptions", then "Add Exception", then "Get Certificate", and finally "Confirm Security Exception". User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access. NOTE: Only five users may access this database at the same time; if you get an error message, please try again shortly.
United Nations Treaty Series
The United Nations Treaty Series provides a collection of treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded with and published by the Secretariat since 1946. The database includes the text of treaties in their authentic language(s), along with translations into English and French, as appropriate. The collection contains over 158,000 treaties and related subsequent actions. Accessible off campus.
Westlaw
You must have a valid Westlaw password to access this database. Accessible off campus.
WestPro: For the benefit of our alumni, the local bench and bar, and members of the public, the Law Library subscribes to WestPro, a computer-assisted legal research product from Westlaw. Content is almost identical to the Law School Westlaw version. WestPro is available on one computer in the Library Lobby. Printing and downloading from WestPro is unavailable; however, one option is to open another browser and access your email account, and then cut and paste your document into your email and send it to yourself. Librarians will be happy to help you with WestPro. Not accessible off campus.
WorldCat
This database is the catalog of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). WorldCat includes records of most types of materials (books, periodicals, videos, manuscripts, etc.) cataloged by OCLC member libraries. User name, barcode number, and PIN number required for off-campus access.