Nina Cascio
International Law Librarian
SUNY Buffalo Law Library
O’Brian Hall
Phone: 645-2633
Citechecking
Buffalo Human Rights Law Review
Spring2004
DECIPHERING CITATIONS
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (17th ed.)
Reserve KF 245 U53 2000
Introduction to Basic Legal Citation by Peter W. Martin
(Legal Information Institute—CornellLawSchool)
Bieber's dictionary of legal abbreviations
Reference Desk KF246 .B46 1993
Bieber's dictionary of legal abbreviations (ON LEXIS)
LegalSecondary LegalAnnotations & IndexesBieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
There are many other citation abbreviation tables. Please ask at the Reference Desk.
VERIFY CITATIONS: BOOKS, DOCUMENTS, AND OTHER MATERIALS
BISON (UB ONLINE CATALOG)
Use to identify books and other materials in the University at Buffalo Libraries Collections.
WorldCat
Use to identify books and other materials held by thousands of libraries in the US and worldwide. Order materials through Interlibrary Loan (ILLIAD) if UB does not own. Allow at least 3-4 weeks.
Library Online catalogs from around the world
Allow several weeks for Interlibrary Loan (ILLIAD) if UB does not own the materials. Ask a reference librarian for assistance.
VERIFY CITATIONS: JOURNALS
If you have a citation to an article, use these sources to LOCATE THE JOURNAL:
BISON (UB Online Catalog)
to see if UB owns it.
Type in the name of the JOURNAL—NOT the title of the article- as a TITLE search.
e.g., t= human rights quarterly
“Electronic Journal Holdings”
to find out if UB has ONLINE access to the FULL TEXT of the journal.
Westlaw
To find out if a specific source is contained in Westlaw, search the IDENdatabase
(All Databases > What’s New and Customer Information > Westlaw Database List)
comprised of names/descriptions of all Westlaw databases.
LEXIS
To find out if a specific source is contained in LEXIS,
search the LEXIS-NEXIS Source Locator
Try using the DESCRIPTION field.
HeinOnline
(though these holdings are reflected in “Electronic Journal Holdings” database.
WorldCat (see above).
Allow a few weeks if article must be obtained through Interlibrary Loan (ILLIAD)
VERIFY CITATIONS: REPORTS, DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS FROM IGOS (Intergovernmental Organizations) and NGOs (Non-governmental Organizations)
Use the sources listed above and…
If you know the body (government, IGO, NGO) that put out the document, go to its website. To locate the website, do a search on the Internet (using Google or other search engine), or use some of these guides:
IGOs
Alphabetic Index of Websites of the United Nations System of Organizations
ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law
All of the available guides:
Introduction to the Guide
Human Rights
International Commercial Arbitration
International Criminal Law
International Economic Law
International Environmental Law
International Organizations
Lists, Newsgroups & Networks
Private International Law
Treaties
United Nations
Foreign & International Law Resources:
An Annotated Guide to Web Sites Around the World—International Organizations
(Harvard Law Library)
UN
United Nations: ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Examine the Treaty Bodies Database and the Charter-Based Bodies Database
Global Issues on the UN Agenda
United Nations Treaty Collection (username______;password______)
NGOs
U. Minnesota Human Rights Library
See “Links to over 4,000 other sites”
Human Rights Internet
HURISEARCH (Huridocs)
Also try Google and other search engines
VERIFY CITATIONS: FOREIGN LAWS
Foreign & International Law Resources:
An Annotated Guide to Web Sites Around the World (Harvard)
Foreign Law Guide
VERIFY CITATIONS: ARTICLES AND OTHER SOURCES
COMMERCIAL DATABASES
Go to “Resources by Subject” page for UB Libraries
Select databases from a variety of subjects such as Law & Legal Studies, Women’s Studies, Health Sciences, and others. These will lead you to journal articles and other materials.
Law & Legal Studies
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books
CIAO
InfoTrac OneFile
Also use Legal Resource Index on Westlaw(LRI) or LEXIS
OTHER WEBSITES
Examine links from UB Law Library Homepage:
Internet Resources>By Subject>International Law