Wisconsin State Law Library

I love 50-state surveys of laws for easy charts outlining basic similarities and differences in state laws. These are great resources for finding primary law citations in a quick glance. We have several sources in our library for finding these kinds of topical surveys. The National Survey of State Laws is a great source for this with a wide range of topics available.

The 2019 edition was recently released in print and online, and library users can use this resource on HeinOnline right away. Prior editions back to 2005 are also available on HeinOnline.

New chapters include:

In law, updates are vital. Our libraries receive several updates each week for books in our collection. The frequency and style of update can depend on the publisher, as well as our subscription to a title.

We just received and filed updates to all of our Wisconsin Civil Jury Instruction sets, so when you go to the shelf, or ask us for a copy of an instruction, you know they're up to date.


To learn a little more about filing updates, see: What is on the book cart? 

For a little poetry (in recognition of National Poetry Month in April), see: Sonnet to a supplement

Download this before it's gone...from April 3 to 19, the State Bar of Wisconsin is offering a free download of A Gift to Your Family: Planning Ahead for Future Health Needs, an end-of-life planning guide.

As discussed in the latest issue of the State Bar's InsideTrack, most Wisconsin residents have not completed an advanced directive document about end-of-life decisions. This planning guide discusses advanced directives, including the Power of Attorney for Health Care and living wills. It discusses the role and responsibilities of a health care agent, and provides resource lists and information on organ and tissue donation.



If you've been wondering about planning for your future medical care, this guide can get you started.

Today is National Bookmobile Day and while we don't have a bookmobile, we do have a library that travels!

Our Borrow by Mail service lets our users request that books be checked out and shipped to them, so our print collection can have just as much reach as our digital collections. It's easy to use. Send in a request and a librarian will pull the books from the shelves, check them out, and send the books along with an invoice for shipping costs to you. (There's no charge for requests from judges.)

This week is National Library Week, and we're talking a lot about how we help our users. One way we help our low-income users is to refer them to legal assistance organizations or clinics close to where they live.

One thing we pride ourselves on at our libraries is our ability and willingness to help. Sometimes our users are astonished at this, feeling like they shouldn't be taking up our time to ask a question. We can assure you, we're ready and happy to help!

Every year during National Library Week, we take time to reflect on how we can help our users. This year, the national theme is Libraries = Strong Communities. We felt like this theme was particularly appropriate for our library. 

We help people every day with a wide range of questions, and from all over the state. Wisconsin is our community, and we're proud to to help people to access legal information.

Do you have a story to tell about using one of our three libraries? Send an email to carol.hassler@wicourts.gov.

We're excited to announce that the State Bar's Wisconsin Lawyer magazine is now available in full text on HeinOnline.

Library cardholders can search this publication all the way back to volume 1, when it was called the Bulletin of the Wisconsin State Bar Association. You may find earlier titles cited in cases, the Statutes Annotated, or articles, which include the Bulletin of the Wisconsin Bar Association, and the Wisconsin Bar Bulletin. The Library keeps these issues in print and microfiche, but digital access through HeinOnline means that any of our users can browse these volumes from anywhere in the state.



You can log in to databases with a library card, and print, save, or email articles to yourself. You can also use journal alerts to get updates when every new issue is added.

Ask a librarian for tips on how to use HeinOnline, or for help setting up article alerts.