The USC Law Library provides access to a range of print and electronic resources that law journal staff may need to consult during the source collection process.
Materials in Print
Use Advocat (USC law library's catalog) to look up the Library of Congress call number and/or the location of each print source at the library.
- Monographs - (single-volume books on legal and interdisciplinary subjects, casebooks, handbooks, hornbooks, manuals, and single-volume treatises):
- most publications - 3rd floor compact shelving or Closed Reserve (Service Counter) shelves.
- international law-related books (on the EU, UN, and the legal systems of foreign countries) - 3rd floor open shelves [Foreign & International Law] shelves.
Sample Search
Call Number, Location, and Availability status, as displayed by Advocat:
- Multi-Volume Publications (U.S. federal and state codes and reporters/reports, legal and other encyclopedias, loose-leaf services, multi-volume treatises, restatements)
- Federal Codes:
- U.S.C., U.S.C.A., U.S. Statutes at Large, and Code of Federal Regulations - shelved alphabetically in the 3rd floor Federal section (fed3).
- West's U.S.C.A., and U.S. Statutes at Large - shelved alphabetically in the 3rd floor Federal section (fed3).
- Federal Case Reporters/Supplements:
- Shelved alphabetically in the 3rd-floor Federal section (fed3).
- United States Reports - shelved in the 3rd floor Federal section (fed3).
- U.S. Supreme Court Reporter's bound volumes are shelved in the 3rd floor (fed3) Federal section
- Latest copies of the (U.S.) Supreme Court Reporter are shelved in Closed Reserves (circ), behind the service counter.
- State Case Reporters/Reports:
- CA Appellate and CA Supreme Court Reports - shelved alphabetically in the 3rd floor's CA section (ca3).
- The latest copies of the California Official Reports - shelved in Closed Reserves (circ), behind the service counter.
- State Codes:
- West's California Codes, Deering's California Codes, Official California Code of Regulations - shelved alphabetically in the 3rd floor CA section (ca3).
- Loose-leaf Publications:
- Continuously updated loose-leaf materials (including practice guides) are shelved by LC call numbers behind the service counter in Closed Reserves (circ), or on the 3rd floor.
- Loose-leafs that are no longer updated are shelved by LC call numbers in the 3rd floor compact shelving stacks.
- Multi-volume Treatises (such as Scott on Trusts, Wigmore on Evidence, Corbin on Contracts, Witkin's Summary of California Law, California Procedure, California Evidence, California Criminal Law):
- Continuously updated titles are shelved by LC call number in the Closed Reserves (circ), and 3rd floor California section (ca3) stacks.
- Restatements (such as Restatement of the Law, Contracts; Restatement of the Law, Torts; Restatement of the Law, Employment Law, etc.):
- Current versions are shelved in the Closed Reserves (circ), and/or 3rd floor stacks.
- Past versions are in the 3rd floor compact shelving stacks.
- Periodicals - journals, magazines, newspapers
- The majority of journals/magazines that the law library owns are electronic; any print materials we still own are in the law library's 3rd floor compact shelving stacks, past the U.S. State Materials stacks.
Older publications of the latter periodicals are accessible either via law library's microfiche collection, through USC law library's e-resources, USC (non-law) libraries' online databases, or through interlibrary loan.