INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL RESOURCES

Sherrod Library is both a depository and repository for several special collections relating to law and political science. The Documents/Law/ Maps Department houses both the United States (federal) and Tennessee (state) documents depository collections, established in 1942 and 1978, respectively. The department is also the site of the ETSU/ Washington County Cooperative Law Collection, created by Tennessee Private Act, Chapter 127, in 1977, and housed in the Sherrod Library since 1978.

The non-circulating Cooperative Law Collection which contains approximately 16,000 volumes includes codes (federal, state, local) digests, reporters and citators, legal encyclopedias, specialized treatises and related legal reference materials. Among the treatises are various looseleaf services which report the activity of congressional legislation and federal court cases on a weekly/bi-weekly basis.

Many of the newer legal resources are located only on the internet. The major legal online resource is Lexis-Nexis. This database provides access to all fifty (50) state codes, legal reference materials, cases and legislation. Please explore this valuable online resource.

Our library contains the largest collection of legal materials found within a 75-mile radius of Johnson City and the only major collection situated between the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville, the Washington & Lee University School of Law in Lexington (VA), and the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy (VA). While there are several private law firms within the region which contain collections of a similar size and scope, they are not open to the general public.

For information concerning legal resources, please come to the Documents/Law/Maps Department located on the 3d floor of Sherrod Library, or call 439-5334. Using legal resources for the first time can be both time consuming and confusing. Citing cases and legal resources can even be more confusing. We will be glad to assist when appropriate. We cannot and do not provide legal advise; we are here only to assist with access to legal resource materials. For more on locating cases, click here.