Online Research Center

Law Library users have access to a variety of resources from the computers within the library or (in some cases) from elsewhere on campus or off-campus.

• If you are off-campus, you can log in via EZProxy to selected Law Library databases (See below for which databases require EZProxy.)
• For assistance with all online resources please contact the Law Library at (815) 753-0519 or ask at the Reference Desk.

Legal databases | Legal journals / law reviews | Other law-related resources 
General resources | Online catalogs

Legal Web Sites:
General | Federal  | Illinois  | International

The databases listed below are restricted by password to the faculty, students and staff of the College of Law. 

• LexisNexis - professional legal research database
       Off-campus access: Use login & password used on-campus
  
• VersusLaw - archived and current opinions from state & federal courts, including selected tribal and foreign courts
       Off-campus access: Use login & password used on-campus 
• Westlaw - professional legal research database
       Off-campus access: Use login & password used on-campus

If you are not affiliated with the College of Law you may wish to try the starred [*] databases listed below and further down this page. They offer similar content to the restricted databases.

• LexisNexis Academic [*] (formerly Academic Universe) - contains many of the legal resources found in LexisNexis, including American case law and statutes. (help & tutorials)
        Off-campus access: EZProxy
• Westlaw - Public Access version [*]- a.k.a. Westpack. Includes cases, statutes and legal periodicals.
       Off-campus access: none; available only at selected workstations in the Law Library and Founders Library; contact a librarian for login information.

• HeinOnline - full-text legal periodical articles in .pdf  format (more information)
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• LegalTrac [*]- comprehensive legal periodicals index including some full text (more information)
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• To search for non-law or specific journal titles to see if they are available in print or online at all NIU libraries, see Does the Library have this journal?

• Aspen treatises - topics include business, construction law, elder law, employment discrimination, many more (more information)
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• Bar Exam Resources - lists materials available in the Law Library and links to additional information available online
• BNA Databases - service covering a wide range of legal, legislative, regulatory, and economic topics (more information)
       Off-campus access: restricted to faculty, students & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
• CALI - over 300 computer-based tutorials in over 29 different legal subjects (more information)
       Off-campus access: restricted to faculty, students & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
• Eighteenth Century Collections Online: Legal Documents - full text of books, pamphlets, and other documents printed in Great Britain and North America 1701-1800 tracing the development of law in the British Empire, Europe, and the Americas. Topics include acts, criminal and international law, appellants' cases, and more. IMPORTANT: the initial screen of this database implies patrons have access to the entire 18th Century Collections Online database. This is incorrect. The only content to which NIU patrons have access is the law materials.
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• ExpressO - online service which assists students and faculty with submitting articles to law reviews. (more information)
       Off-campus access: login and password
• GovSearch - contact information and organization charts for federal, state, and municipal government executives and civilian program information (more information)
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• HeinOnline - court reports, federal and state statutes, federal administrative regulations, presidential documents, classic legal treatises, and more (more information)
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• IICLE - (Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education)  online handbooks, quick guides, & legal forms (more information)
       Off-campus access: restricted to faculty & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
• IntelliConnect (CCH & Wolters-Kluwer) - provides full-text access to over 80 titles in the areas of antitrust law, banking, international business, and other topics. (more information)
        Off-campus access:  restricted to faculty, students & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
• Law Journal Press Treatises - Online treatises in the areas of antitrust, intellectual property, personal injury and other topics. (more information)
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• Making of Modern Law: Trials, 1600-1926 - full text documents of trial transcripts, popular printed accounts, briefs, arguments, and other documents related to over 300 years of notable Anglo-American trials and crimes such as those involving Dred Scott, Susan B. Anthony, Oscar Wilde, the Boston Massacre, the Bounty mutineers, the Salem witchcraft trials, and many more.
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• National Consumer Law Center - online materials supplementing the NCLC's printed publications in the law library's collection. (more information)
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• PACER - electronic system for accessing federal case records. If you are a law student, faculty or staff please speak with a law librarian to obtain documents on PACER. Members of the public may also access PACER; registration and fee information is available from the PACER web page at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/.
• ProQuest Congressional [*]- committee reports and other publications of the U.S. Congress. NOTE: the Law Library's license only allows access to content beginning with the 91st Congress in 1969. For access to content extending back to the 1st Congress in 1789, access ProQuest Congressional on site at Founders Library.
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• RIA Checkpoint - state and federal tax laws, cases, regulations, legislation and related resources
       Off-campus access: restricted to faculty, students & staff of the College of Law; contact a librarian for details.
• SSRN Legal Scholarship Network - abstracts and some full text of working papers and articles accepted for publication in a variety of law-related topics (more information)
       Off-campus access: user login and password

• Law Library patrons have access to the databases available through Founders Library. Off-campus use may require EZProxy. To use EZProxy with Founders Library databases, use http://www.ulib.niu.edu/audience/authentication.cfm.
• To search for specific journal titles available in print or online at all NIU libraries, see Does the Library Have This Journal?

• NIU Catalog - searches all NIU libraries using a "Google-like" interface called Vu-Find. See the Help/FAQ page for information about setting up a Vu-Find account.
       Alternative interfaces: 'Classic' catalog  
       Off-campus access: available to anyone
• I-Share Catalog - searches the holdings of over 70 academic & specialized libraries in Illinois
       Off-campus access: available to anyone
• Statewide Illinois Library Catalog - (part of WorldCat/FirstSearch) searches all types of libraries in Illinois
       Off-campus access: EZProxy
• WorldCat (part of FirstSearch) - searches library collections worldwide
       Off-campus access: EZProxy