Research services at the Law Library

Book a Librarian

Book a Librarian is an opportunity to book a one-to-one session with one of the Bodleian Law Library's experienced members of staff. The sessions can be booked by anyone with a University Library card by contacting the team (law.ref@bodleian.ox.ac.uk). Sessions are usually 1 – 2 hours long and can cover anything you may need help with.

Please note that, due to COVID 19 regulations, it is likely that any sessions will be online for the foreseeable future. However, please contact us with any questions.

Below you can find more information about this service, including details of the Book a Librarian team and a list of common subjects.  This list is not exhaustive, so please contact us if your problem/topic is not listed - we are happy to help where we can. Don't worry if you are not familiar with legal materials, as we can cater for those without any or little knowledge of law.

 

Legal Research Librarian

Kate Jackson

Kate Jackson is the Legal Research Librarian and is happy to help with research on UK law and offers training on legal databases. Kate is also able to help with research on human rights law.

Research Support Librarian (part time)

Nicola Patrick

Nicola Patrick is happy to help with research on UK law and offers training on legal databases. Nicola will also answer questions on SSRN and can help you set up a permaCC account.

Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian

Dr Elizabeth Wells

Elizabeth is happy to help with research in the laws of foreign jurisdictions, public & private international law, and the history of the Anglo-American legal tradition. She also helps with putting OSCOLA guidance into practice.

Academic Services Librarian

Margaret Watson

Margaret is the Academic Services Librarian. She has worked extensively with EU legal materials and documentation at home and abroad, for universities and as the EU information specialist in a major City law firm, and is happy to assist with EU enquires and research.

Official Papers Librarian

Hannah Chandler

Hannah Chandler is the Official Papers Subject Consultant. The collection consists of Parliamentary Papers, non-Parliamentary papers and the proceedings of the United Kingdom to include the devolved assemblies and Scottish Parliament. The Official Papers section also contains the depository collections of several international intergovernmental bodies, most notably the United Nations.

Human rights resources

We can go through the online and print resources available and tailor the session to cover any jurisdictional or subject interest.

Legal information from foreign jurisdictions

We can help you find resources and materials from a specific country or jurisdiction.

Database instruction

We can arrange training on any of the databases to which the Law Library has access. We can help you find material you are looking for or make the most of advanced functions for your research.  

UK cases and legislation

If you are new to the UK legal system or want a refresher on finding UK primary sources of law, we can go through the available resources and show you how to find specific cases or pieces of legislation, search for cases and/or legislation on a subject and keep updated.

EU resources

If you are new to the subject or confused about documents produced by the EU and the various institutions, or you are looking for the best sources of cases or legislation, we can help you understand the online and print resources available to you.

This list is not exhaustive; if your problem or topic is not listed, we are happy to help where we can. We can cater for those with no or little knowledge of law. 

Graduate Reading Room

The Graduate Reading Room, next to the Small Computer Room, is available for any postgraduate student to use. It has desks and network ports to plug in laptops and a relatively strong Wi-Fi signal. The room also has soft seating and a whiteboard.

Book reservation

We offer book reservation to Law Faculty and graduate students currently registered with the Faculty for the following degrees: MSt, MLitt, MPhil, PRS, DPhil.  If you would like to arrange book reservation, please ask at the Enquiry Desk.

You may usually reserve up to eight Law Library textbooks. This excludes law reports, journals, legislation, loose-leaf publications, EDC and Official Papers material, some multi-volume works, and other basic research materials. (The Library may decline to reserve, or de-reserve, any book in the interests of general use, for example if a book is on a reading list).

Reserved books must remain in the Law Library at all times.