Law Collection Development Policy

Subject Specialist:  Yemisi Dina

Definitions

• Primary materials -- Legislation including Statutes and Regulations; Law Reports
• Secondary materials -- Treatises, Government publications, theses, continuations (including journals); Loose-leaf services and supplemented materials; Encyclopedias and digests

Academic Programmes Supported and Description of Current Collection
The Law Library collection supports teaching and research both at the Osgoode Hall Law School and throughout the University for other faculties and programmes such as the Law and Society programme and the Faculties of Environmental Studies and History. The Law Library also supports the research undertaken by various units such as the York University Centre for Public Law and Public Policy, the Institute for Feminist Legal Studies and the Centre for Refugee Studies, Refugee Law Research Unit.

Description of Current Collection
The Library collects the following jurisdictions: Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, U.S., Commonwealth Caribbean, France; and the EEC; and in the following non jurisdictional subjects: Public International Law, Comparative Law, and Jurisprudence.

The collection is almost totally limited to material written in English or French.

• Canada -- Federal and Provincial
• • The Library collects most available primary and secondary legal material in the English language and in the French language when French is the only language of publication. Exclusions are:
  • 1. law for the layman;
    2. most continuing legal education material;
    3. duplicate loose-leaf services
    4. local practice material.
  • Retrospectively, the collection includes practically all published legal Canadiana through approximately 1980.
  • Where older material is not available, photocopies or microforms are purchased. For legislation, the library attempts to have a hard copy available.
  • Legal manuscripts are purchased if they are considered to be of scholarly importance.
  • Access is available to all Canadian legal databases.
• U.S.
• • Primary materials include: Federal Statutes and Reports, National Reporter System, and some subject/administrative reports.
  • The Library collects a high portion of scholarly works and a selection of practitioner works that are national in scope.
  • Mainly academic periodicals are collected with some subject ones Ä in general, practitioner periodicals are not bought.
  • Most Federal government documents are not collected since they are in the Government Documents Library.
  • Most state specific material is not collected.
  • Access is available to major U.S. legal databases.
• U.K . (England and Wales)
• • Primary materials are collected in depth currently and retrospectively, including regulations.
  • The Reports collection through the 19th Century is nearly comprehensive. In the 20th Century the collection lacks some subject series.
  • The Library collects most secondary materials which are scholarly in nature and a substantial selection of major practitioner works.
  • All academic periodicals are collected as are some subject ones.
  • Legal manuscripts are purchased if of scholarly interest.
  • Access is available to some U.K. legal databases.
  • The Library subscribes to the 19th Century Legal Treatises in microform (British material) and the legal part of the ESTC (Eighteenth Century Legal Treatises) microfilm project.
• U.K. (Northern Ireland and Scotland)
• • Primary materials are collected in depth currently and retrospectively, including regulations.
  • The Reports collection through the 19th Century is nearly comprehensive. In the 20th Century the collection lacks some subject series.
  • The Library collects most secondary materials which are scholarly in nature and a substantial selection of major practitioner works.
  • All academic periodicals are collected as are some subject ones.
  • Legal manuscripts are purchased if of scholarly interest.
  • Access is available to some U.K. databases.
  • In general, collection strengths tend to be lower than in England and Wales currently.
  • The Library subscribes to the 19th Century Legal Treatises in microform (British material) and the legal part of the ESTC (Eighteenth Century Legal Treatises) microfilm project.
• Republic of Ireland
• • The Reports collection is strong retrospectively and the Library subscribes to the major set of reports.
  • The Library collects most secondary materials which are scholarly in nature and a few major practitioner works.
  • All academic periodicals are collected.
  • Legal manuscripts are purchased if of scholarly interest.
  • Access is available to some Irish legal databases.
  • Legal Treatises in microform (British mater ial) and the legal part of the ESTC (Eighteenth Century Legal Treatises) microfilm project.
• Australia
• • Primary materials include all federal legislative materials which are collected in depth, exclusive of regulations.
  • The Reports collection, retrospective and current, is complete for the major federal sets. For Australian states, the collection is not current.
  • The Library collects most secondary materials which are scholarly in nature.
  • All academic periodicals are collected as are some subject periodicals.
  • Access is available to some Australian databases.
• New Zealand
• • Primary materials includes legislation (exclusive of regulations) which is collected in depth.
  • The Reports collection, retrospective and current, is complete for major sets.
  • The Library collects most secondary material which is scholarly in nature.
  • All academic and some subject periodicals are collected.
  • Access is available to some New Zealand databases.
• Commonwealth Caribbean
• • Some reports, current and retrospective are collected.
  • The Library collects most secondary material published.
  • All periodicals published are collected.
• France
• • Primary materials -- legislative material includes selected current codes and current legislation in some form.
  • The Reports collection contains one current major Report series.
  • The Library collects a selection of monographs of scholarly interest in most subject areas.
  • Retrospectively, the Library purchases those materials which have influenced the development of the Quebec law.
  • A small selection of major periodical titles is collected.
  • Access is available to some French legal databases.
• Comparative Law
• • The Library collects most major works of scholarly interest written in English and a selection of major scholarly works written in French. There is some focus on Comparative Constitutional Law.
• Public International Law
• • The Library collects most major works of scholarly interest written in English, a selection of major scholarly works written in French and a substantial collection of Treaties current and retrospective.
  • Periodicals include most major titles in English and French.
• Jurisprudence
• • The L ibrary collects most works of scholarly importance published in English and a selection of major scholarly works written in French.
  • Periodicals include most major titles in English.
• European Community
• • The Library collects most works of scholarly importance published in English and a selection of major scholarly works written in French.
  • Periodicals include most major titles in English.

Related Collections at York
Related collections on which legal scholars rely include those of the Business and Government Publications Library, History, Political Science, Criminology, Women's Studies, Environmental Studies, Sociology, Health, Labour Relations, Anthropology, Religious Studies, etc.

Languages
See Description of Current Collection

Geographical Coverage
See Description of Current Collection

Chronological Coverage
See Description of Current Collection

Date of Publications
See Description of Current Collection

Duplication
There are some government publications which are duplicated in the Law Library and the Government Documents Library. There are other materials which are duplicated in the Law Library and at the Scott and Frost libraries. In all cases, duplication is based on high demand and overall collection policies as stated.

Gifts
Gifts are accepted as need dictates.

Types of Materials
Materials are purchased in printed and microform formats. The Law Library maintains access to essential legal databases.

• Theses -- All Osgoode theses are collected in printed form. Selected York theses are purchased in printed or microfiche formats. Theses from other institutions are purchased in printed or microfiche.
• Casebooks -- The Library collects Osgoode casebooks, commercially published Canadian casebooks and a selective number of casebooks from institutions in other jurisdictions.
• National Academic Law Library Cooperative Plan for Resource Sharing -- The Canadian Academic Law Libraries have agreed on a structure to share library resources nationally. Each library has identified major or strong subject strengths (see Collecting Levels). These are collection strengths of national significance, above the level that most libraries collect at. Under the agreement each law library will make an initial five year commitment to subscribe to certain individual titles. A commitment means that other libraries may rely on these commitments in deciding whether or not to continue to subscribe to particular titles. The underlying assumption is that, for certain titles, beyond the core materials needed for teaching and research, it is sufficient to rely on only a few library locations in Canada.
• Local Cooperative Projects -- The Law Library has implemented a cooperative project with the Bora Laskin Law Library (University of Toronto) which involves the journals of minor U.S. law schools. Each library has committed to keep journals which the other has then cancelled. The purchase of newly published journals will be divided equally during the course of each year.

Resources Elsewhere in the Toronto Region

• Laskin Law Library - U. of T.
• Centre of Criminology - U. of T.
• Canadian Tax Foundation
• Pontifical Institute - Canon Law
• Robarts Library - Roman Law

Collecting Levels

Last updated 2007