Your gateway to locating law resources in Oxford libraries is our online catalogue SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online). However, like any search engine, SOLO can sometimes be a little tricky to get used to, so we’ve put together some handy hints to help you find what you need in the Bodleian jungle…
1. What you can find with SOLO
The main search function of SOLO allows you to locate most physical and digital media held in the Bodleian Libraries or in college libraries. However, some legal materials can’t be easily located just using the search function.
Law reports aren’t searchable using SOLO; you’ll need to go to the relevant database and use their search function. The most relevant databases for undergraduate law students are Westlaw and Lexis+ but you can find a full list of the legal databases the LawBod subscribes to here.
2. Optimising your SOLO search
You’ll find a comprehensive guide to SOLO search strategies on Oxford LibGuides but here are a few brief tips…
SOLO is very sensitive to typos and spelling errors so any mistyped names or titles will often produce a ‘no records found’ search result. If you’re getting this result, check your search terms and try again. (N.B. this doesn’t apply to foreign characters, for example, SOLO recognises ä à ā as the same character)
If you want to find out if a particular library has what you’re looking for, you can click on the drop down ‘Search everything’ menu and select a location. The ‘All Bodleian Libraries’ location will eliminate college libraries from the search, so will only list resources that all students have access to.
The first search result might not necessarily be what you’re looking for! Textbooks with many editions will often have a few SOLO entries. If you are looking for the latest edition, you can refine your search by date of publication.
3. Interpreting SOLO entries
SOLO entries list bibliographic information (author, edition, date etc) and indicate whether a given item is on a course reading list. If you’re looking for one of your set readings and the entry isn’t marked ‘Course’, check that the entry is for the right edition!
If the item is in more than one library, you’ll need to select the library you want. The shelfmark will then display, which tells you where in the library the item is located.
Shelf marks and where to find them
Level 3
Internat
Euro Comm
Country name (e.g. France, Spain)
Crim
International law
EU law
Materials on specific European countries (non-comparative)
Criminology
Level 2 (where entrance and enquiry desk are located)
General
Jurisp
Roman
Legal Hist
General and comparative law (usually any study which examines more than one jurisdiction will be here or in KB)
Jurisprudence (philosophy of law)
Roman law
Legal history
Note on K-series: From around 2010, the LawBod switched its classification to the Moys system, a system designed for law libraries. New books which come into the library are catalogued according to Moys shelfmarks which all begin with ‘K’. Non-Moys shelfmarks are followed by a number which indicates if it’s legislation (100), a law report (150), a journal (300) or a monograph (510) e.g. General 510 A756a.
KB
KL
KM
KN
KZ
General and comparative law (same remit as General but this section is less extensive)
Common law systems
Common law: public law
Some useful shelfmarks include KM500-570 (criminal law), KM300-307 (administrative law), KM31 (constitutional law)
Common law: private law
Some useful shelfmarks include KN10 (contract law), KN30 (tort law). KN210 (law of trusts), KN200 (equity)
Non-legal subjects (includes Halsbury’s Laws and Statutes, legal digests)
Level 1
Country names (non-European, e.g. Cw India,
China)
Materials on the law of specific non-European countries
Level 0
Sec coll
O. (e.g. O.GB, O.UNESCO)
Secondary collections (old editions which have been superseded by newer ones)
Official Papers (records and publications produced by various UK and Irish governmental entities and by international and European organisations)
The most common shelf marks are listed here but if in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask at the desk!
If you can’t find what you want in Oxford at all…
The Bodleian Libraries have enormous collections but they aren’t all-encompassing! If you need a physical book that the Law Library doesn’t have, you can request to borrow it from another library through the Inter-Library Loan scheme- just click on the ‘Need More?’ option on the SOLO homepage to fill out a request form. You can also suggest that we purchase a print item or e-resource and the library team will consider the request (based on our budget and overall collections strategy).
Remember, your friendly Law Library staff are always happy to help: you can find us in person at the enquiry desk on Level 2 or email us at law.library@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
