Academic Universe    Congressional Universe    Statistical Universe    GPO Access

CGU PP 306: The Legislative Process and Public Policy
Professor Jean Schroedel

Honnold/Mudd extensively collects materials in the subject area of Politics, Government, and Law. These materials can be found in the General Library Collections and the Government Publications Collections. This course guide is designed to help you focus on some of the most relevant information resources in your subject area.

If you have questions about any of these resources or if you would like to schedule an appointment to work on your particular research topic, please contact Mary Martin in Honnold/Mudd Library, ext.18923 (621-8923) mary.martin@libraries.claremont.edu.

Finding Information on the Legislative Process and Public Policy

Help with Library Research
How to Cite Government Information Resources
Finding Information on Anglo-American Law Using the WWW
Finding Legal Resources in Paper
Finding Historical Resources
Finding Books
Finding General and Popular Articles Using Database Indexes


Help With Library Research

Help With Library Research - For help specific to Library Research

How to Cite Government Information Resources Back To Contents List

Finding Information on Law Using the WWW Back To Contents List

Finding Legal Resources in Paper

Primary Sources

Constitution
 

  • The Constitution of the United States, Revised and Annotated, 1982. Hon Gov US Y 1.1/3:99-16 1992. Annotated commentary on each section of the Constitution, with reference to interpretation in relevant Supreme Court cases.

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    Statutes
     

  • The United States Code.  Hon Gov Ref US Y 1 2/5:988. All statutes currently in force, organized by subject matter in fifty "Titles" and well indexed. Supplements for years since the last complete edition. Also available in CD-ROM, and on LEXIS.
  • United States Statutes at Large.   Hon Gov Ref US GS 4.111. Laws passed each session of Congress organized chronologically by their Public Law (PL) number. "Slip laws" are individual prints of new laws which are received as they are enacted and shelved loosely in containers.
  • United States Code Annotated  Hon KF62 .A3  The U.S. Code Annotated is a commercial version of the U.S. Code that is annotated with a keynote subject indexing and other features added by Wests' Publishing Company.

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    Secondary Sources
     

  • Black's Law Dictionary. Hon Ref KB 561 1968. For translation of legal terminology.
  • The Guide to American law : everyone's legal encyclopedia Hon Ref KF 156 G77 1983. Excellent source of historical encyclopedic information on the law - updated by  West's Encyclopedia of American Law.
  • Index to legal periodicals Hon Ref Periodicals  1926-1987 in paper in the index section. (Index to Legal Periodicals): Indexes articles from over 600 legaljournals, yearbooks, institutes, bar association organs, law reviews, andgovernment publications originating in the United States, Canada, GreatBritain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Includes book reviews.

    • West's Encyclopedia of American Law  Hon Ref Fol KF 154 W47 1998. Comprehensive source of information on the U.S. system of federal and state constitutions, statustues, regulations, and common-law decisions.

    Finding Tools
     

  • Congressional Universe(1970-current). Guide, index and abstracts to hearings, committee prints, reports and documents issued by Congress. (Also available on CD-ROM from 1989 - current) With Congressional Universe, researchers can track legislative and public policy issues as well as the activities of committees and members of Congress. For historical congressional documentation back to 1789 see:
  • Congressional Masterfile I: 1768-1969 Provides indexing for major Congressional documents including U.S. Serials Set, 1789-1969; U.S. Senate Executive Documents and Reports, 1817-1969; U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings; 1833-1969; and U.S. Congressional Committee Prints, 1830-1969. [This resource is available only to users in the search centers of the Libraries - This resource is available only to users within the Libraries.]
  • Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names.  Hon Ref Desk KF 80 55 1992 (Second copy in reference). So you want to know what law people are referring to when they say "The Clean Air Act" or "Gramm-Rudman"?
  • United States Code Congressional and Administrative News. Hon K UN2 CA 1993. A periodical updating of newly enacted public laws and their legislative histories, as well as presidential documents. (Older issues in general library stacks)

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    Judicial Decisions
     

  • The Constitution of the United States, Revised and Annotated, 1982. Supplement, Shelf Location: Hon Gov US Y 1.1/3:99-16 1992. Annotated commentary on each section of the Constitution, with reference to interpretation in relevant Supreme Court cases.
  • United States Reports: Cases adjudged in the Supreme Court. Hon K UN3A (general library stacks) A digest of all cases decided by the Supreme Court throughout its history. Most recent cases are issued as Slip Opinions, which are then collected in Official Reports of the Supreme Court before being included in United States Reports.
  • Supreme Court Reporter (West's)  Hon K Su761 Comprehensive review of Supreme Court Cases and decisions. Kept updated by advance sheets.
  • U.S. Supreme Court Digest (Lawyer's Edition).   Hon KF 101.1 D 32 v. 55. (general library stacks) A complete and current index to Supreme Court cases.

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    Secondary Sources
     

  • Black's Law Dictionary. Shelf Location: HON REF KB 561 1968. For translation of legal terminology.
  • Law journals such as the Harvard Law Review, UCLA Law Review, Administrative Law Review, etc. Use a  periodical index such as Index to Legal Periodicals, or search on Academic Universe(Lexis/Nexis)in the Law Review File for citations to as well as full-text law review articles..
  • Corpus Juris Secundum.  Hon K C811S A Complete Restatement of the Entire American Law. Has a general index and a loose-leaf translation table.
  • United States Law Week.  Hon Ref KF 175 U8x Looseleaf service that reports Federal Circuit and Supreme Court decisions weekly.

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    Finding Tools
     

  • Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation 16th edition. Hon Ref Desk KF 245 B58 1996. This not only lists forms of legal citation, it is a key to deciphering them.
  • Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names. Hon Gov Ref KF 80 55 1992 (Second copy in reference). So you want to know what law people are referring to when they say "The Clean Air Act" or "Gramm-Rudman"?
  • Shepard's Federal Case Names Citator (Ninth Circuit Court) Hon Ref Desk K SH 477 F4. Lists names and citations for the Federal Reporter, Federal Circuit Court Cases.
  • Shepard's United States Supreme Court Names Citator. Hon Ref Desk K SH47 S9 1987 (general library stacks) This publications lists case name and citations that appear in U.S. Supreme Court Reports(Lawyer's Edition), United States Reports (Lawyer's Edition), and United States Supreme Court Reports,second series).
  • United States Supreme Court Decisions: An Index to Excerpts, Reprints and Decisions.  Hon Ref KF 101.6 G83 1983. Although published in 1983, this is a concise, one volume index to books on Supreme Court Decisions.
  • West's general digest. eighth series also called Tenth decennial digest : American digest system: and American Digest System,  Hon K. Am3 D10. A digest of all current decisions of the American courts as reported in the National reporter system and other standard reports : continuing the tenth decennial digest part 1.

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    Administrative Law  (Executive Branch)

    Primary Sources

    President and the White House
     

  • Public Papers of the Presidents.  Hon Gov Ref US GS 4.113. (Prior to Herbert Hoover, the volumes are shelved in the general library stacks under J 81 B96) Everything each President has ever done that was recorded on paper is in this series.
  • Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.  Hon Gov Ref US GS 4.114:18. Collection of such documents as press releases, executive orders, proclamations, speeches, etc. More current than the above.

    • **Both of these titles have current editions available on U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO Access)
    Administrative Agencies
     
  • Code of Federal Regulations.  Hon Ref US AE 2.106/3:1998. A compilation of final rules and regulations produced by executive branch agencies to elaborate on Public Laws, organized by subject matter in 50 "Titles" parallel to those of US Code (see above). Updated annually. (Also available on LEXIS and the Federal Bulletin Board)
  • The Federal Register.  Hon Gov US Microfiche GS 4.107:42. A daily compilation of Presidential Executive Orders, Proclamations and reorganization plans, as well as all rules and regulations proposed by executive branch agencies. Also contains notices of public meetings, hearings, etc. (Also available on LEXIS and the Federal Bulletin Board)

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    Finding Historical Resources

    For access to an annotated version of the U.S. Constitution and other Founding Documents (The Federalist Papers) etc. try the U.S. Constitution Page.

    For information on library resources in History, which includes Politics, connect to the excellent Research Guide in History located on the Library's Reference & Instruction Page: (Click on "Research Guides", then scroll down to the subject History and click.)History Research Guide.

    Another excellent guide to resources in Government available electronically for current sources, and in paper for historical government Publications sources, is the American Government Resource Guide.

    Archiving Early America Here you will find original newspapers, maps and writings from 18th Century America. An array of authentic documents that form an historical record of a significant time in the American experience-- the Colonial Period, the War of Independence, and the presidencies of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

    U.S. Constitution (Hypertext Version) Here you will find the text of the U.S. Constitution, Amendments, and the Bill of Rights, in a hypertext format that permits a fuller understanding of the original meaning of the Constitution. Links to other pertinent sites such as the Supreme Court are also included.

    Constitution links Here you will find different sites that include the U.S. Constitution, Amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and even scanned copies of the original Constitution.

    The Federalist Project Vote Smart's compilation of links to historic documents includes the Federalist Papers.

    The Declaration An online exhibit presented by the Library of Congress detailing the chronology of the Declaration of Independence, with some graphics.

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    Finding Books

    Blais - the online catalog of the Libraries of the Claremont Colleges (DEN, HON, SGM, SPR), is searchable by keyword, author, title, subject, and call number.  In addition to materials in the four libraries, Blais also includes materials at the Claremont School of Theology (STC) and the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens (RSA). Books can be searched by author, title, or subject. If you are unsure of the exact title or if your subject search doesn't produce the results you hoped for, try a "Words in title" search using two or three of the most significant words from the title or subject you are trying to find. Subject searching requires use of Library of Congress Subject Headings. A list of possible subject headings is provided above.

    Link+ -Union catalog and book request service that allows Claremont Colleges students, faculty and staff to borrow books unavailable at our Libraries. This new service is expected to provide faster delivery of materials than traditional Interlibrary Loan Services. Participating libraries include CSU Fullerton, CSU Hayward, CSU Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, San Diego State, San Francisco State, San Jose State, Occidental College, and the Claremont Colleges.

    WorldCat on FirstSearch - Union catalog of over 36 million records of any type of material cataloged by OCLC member libraries. Includes manuscripts written as early as the 11th century.  Firstsearch) -- has holdings of most libraries in North America and the U.K.. These materials may be borrowed through ILL.

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    Finding General and Popular Articles in Journals and Newspapers Using Database Indexes

    If you need a scholarly article on your subject, written by an expert and based on research, use an index which covers scholarly journals.  Remember that sometimes the best index for your research needs is a paper index, not an online database.

    Use the list of Alphabetical List of Databases or the Subject Listing (directly below the link to the Alphabetical List) or the appropriate Subject Research Guide for more suggestions on the best databases for your research.

    Use the following print and CDROM indexes to find articles and other materials on specific topics. For questions, please do not hesitate to call Mary Martin, Government Publications and International Relations, at extension x18923.

    ABC Pol Sci Citations with table of contents from more than 300journals worldwide in political science and government. [Library LAN: 1984- present; updated 3 times per year.]

    Academic Universe(Lexis/Nexis)
    This is a full-text database consisting of millions of articles covering the fields of business, law and legislation, and general news. There are terminals available in the Reference, Government Publications, and Asian Studies departments. You may also Telnet through the Library Services Menu.

    America: History and Life Citations and abstracts of articles from over 2,100 journals, book reviews, and dissertations on the history and culture of the U.S. and Canada. [Library LAN: 1982 - present; updated three times per year.]

    CQ Library Full-text CQ Weekly Report and CQ Researcher available, current and back to 1983. Excellent source for legislative and executive branch activties. Also available in paper in Current Periodicals with back issues in the Hon Ref stacks JK 1 C15. (Passworded link to Online bill tracking and political news - check with the Reference Librarian).

    OmniFile
    Searching via OmniFile, Wilson General Science Abstracts covers subjects in the sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) Wilson Humanities Abstracts covers subjects in the humanities (art, literature, music, philosophy, religion, etc.), and Wilson Social Sciences Abstracts covers subjects in the social sciences (economics, psychology, government, etc.). One advantage of these three databases is that the Libraries have most of the journals they index. Coverage begins in the 1980's. Coverage for earlier years is available in paper indexes.

    Pais   Index to public policy and social issues, information in a wide range of subjects. Contains selected citations to journal articles, books, government documents and reports. Also indexes foreign language publications. Library has paper and electronic sources, although limited coverage in electronic format. Available in paper back to the early 1900's.

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