by John P. Joergensen, Reference/Circulation Librarian, Rutgers-Camden School of Law Library
Note: only currently enrolled Rutgers law students and Rutgers law faculty are allowed to use WESTLAW and LEXIS.
Finding law journal articles can be time consuming and frustrating. There are, however, some electronic tools that can take much of the pain out of your search. One of the most useful is the Legal Resources Index, which is available on LEXIS. This index provides references to a very large number of journals and law reviews. It can be searched using both Boolean and natural language, and provides coverage from 1980 to the present. For articles earlier than 1980, the paper version of the Legal Resources Index must still be used.
It is important to use this index in addition to any general law review search that may be done on either LEXIS or WESTLAW. Although LEXIS contains approximately 220 journals and WESTLAW contains 582 journals, the years which they cover varies widely from journal to journal. Some are covered from the early to mid-eighties to present, while some are only included from 1995. In addition, while WESTLAW has a wide range of periodicals, many are posted "selectively." In other words, coverage is incomplete.
ACCESSING THE LEGAL RESOURCES INDEX:
The Legal Resources Index is located in the LAWREV library under the identifier LGLIND. It can be searches using the following Segments: Author, Journal Title, Title (of article), Date, Terms.
If you have any questions, ask at the reference desk. We are happy to help.
Rev. 10/1/96 JPJ