Best Practices and Comparative Law Resources
Library Resources
Comparative State Law:
Book of the States: 2008. (Published by The Council of State Governments) LOCATION: Reference Desk JK2403.B6.
Council of State Governments (CSG) State Directories. (Annual, 1996/97 - ).
Directory I - Elective Officials - 2008.
LOCATION: Reference Desk JK 2403 S71
Directory II - Legislative Leadership, Committees & Staff - 2007.
LOCATION: Reference Desk JK 2403 S712
Directory III - Administrative Officials - 2008.
LOCATION: Reference Desk JK 2403 S714State Trends: Measuring Change Across America. (Published by CQ Press) Gives comparative information on a range of topics for each state. LOCATION: 5th Stacks HA203 .S735.
State Legislative History Research Guides and State Legislatures on the Web. This site is a guide to the web-based resources available to perform legislative histories in each of the fifty states. It is available online at
http://www.law.indiana.edu/lawlibrary/research/guides/statelegislative/index.shtml/..Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. Annualy updated by Lexis editors. The Law Digests provide summaries of the laws of the United States, Canada, and 73 other nations. Available on Lexis. Go to Find a Source and use "law digest" as your search terms, then choose the jurisdiction you need.
National Center for State Courts. Buffalo, N.Y.: W.S. Hein. LOCATION: Micrographics Room KF8736.A1 N37. Microform publications accompanied by printed subject index. Recent publications are available online at the National Center for State Court's CourTopics page
(http://www.ncsconline.org/WCDS/topiclisting.htm).National Survey of State Laws. 6th ed. 2008. Richard A. Leiter, editor. Detroit : Thomson/Gale. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF242.A12 N38.
Searching the Law-The States. 4th ed. 2003. Francis R. Doyle. (A selective bibliography of state practice materials in the 50 states.) LOCATION: Reference Desk KF240.D69 2003.
State Legislative Sourcebook 2007: A Resource Guide to Legislative Information in the Fifty States. Lynn Hellebust. Topeka, Kan.: Government Research Service. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF4933.H44 2007.
State Yellow Book. New York, NY : Monitor Pub. Co., 1989-current. (A semiannual directory of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the 50 state governments.) LOCATION: Most recent (Summer 2008) at Reference Collection; older editions are in the 5th Floor Stacks. JK2679 .S72.
Statutes Compared: A U.S., Canadian, Multinational Research Guide to Statutes by Subject. Jon S. Schultz, 2nd ed., Buffalo, NY : William S. Hein, 2001, with supplements. LOCATION: Reference Desk. KF1.S36 2001.
Subject Compilations of State Laws. Cheryl Rae Nyberg, editor. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1981- current. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF1 .N93. Also available though Hein-on-Line.
State Administrative Law Bibliography: Print and Electronic Resources. Cheryl Rae Nyberg, Twin Falls, Idaho: Carol Boast and Cheryl Rae Nyberg, 2000. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF 5407 .Z95 N93.
State Agency Databases. GODORT provides links to the agency web sites for each of the fifty states at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases.
Specialized Resources:
Congressional Research Service. Major Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service. 1991-2005. LOCATION: Micrographics Room). JK1108.M255. The Hastings Law Library has an online subscription to full-text CRS Reports and Issue Briefs from 1994 to present. This subscription also includes an index to CRS Reports, which includes reports as far back as 1970.
For full text access to older reports, first check the Internet. Hints: try typing the title of your report, in quotation marks, in Google. If you cannot find an older report online, please contact a Reference Librarian.
The Urban Institute investigates social and economic problems confronting the nation and analyzes efforts to solve these problems. The Institute seeks to increase Americans' awareness of important public choices and improve the formulation and implementation of government decisions. Much of its research is available to the public at their web site
The Encyclopedia of Associations is a guide to nearly 23,000 national and international organizations. It is a good place to start looking for a public interest organization that might collect current information and resources on your topic. LOCATION: Reference Desk HS17.G332.
ERIC is a government-sponsored searchable database of abstracts of articles on education and related subjects. Online at http://eric.ed.gov
National, State & Local Best Pratices Resources
State of the Cities Data System from HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) provides an interface to search the 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 decennial census data for demographic and economic characteristics. The Data System also allows searching for criminal, business, and housing data sets as well.
The Seattle Public Library hosts Municipal Codes Online, a page of links to free, searchable city and county codes, organized by state.
Library of Congress Research Center is an index of state and local government information on the Internet.
State and Local Government on the Net maintained by Piper Resources, includes Internet links to state and local government sites.
NaCo (National Association of Counties) represents county governments in the United States. NaCo advocates county issues, does public outreach on county government, and assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors allows you to search its Best Practices of City Government site. You can keyword search recent issues in municipal government, which may include references to the enabling ordinances.
WebArchives from the California Digital Library are archives of captured web sites, including the archives of many local governments (Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and more).
League of California Cities provides services including legislative advocacy on behalf of cities, educational programs and materials on subjects of concern to city officials, and an important research and information exchange. The League of California Cities publishes the Western City Magazine; current and archived articles and legal notes are online and searchable at http://www.westerncity.com.
The Institute of Governmental Studies Library has links to detailed information on topical subjects in California government.
The Council of State Governments, a non-partisan organization that promotes excellence in state government, maintains an index of state web pages available on the Internet and provides news about current state issues.
National Conference of State Legislatures Internet site includes information, research, and publications on critical state issues. You can track legislation in the states at National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Tracking.
NARC is the National Association of Regional Councils. NARC serves as the national voice for regionalism. NARC advocates for and provides services to its member councils of government (COGs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs).
Stateline.org is operated by the Pew Center on the States, a research organization administered by the University of Richmond, and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. It was founded in order to help journalists, policy makers and engaged citizens become better informed about innovative public policies.
The Government Innovators Network is hosted by the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University. The site has news and resources on a variety of topics of interest to local and state governments, including economic and community development, health and social services, public infrastructure, and finance.
State and County QuickFacts is a source of comparative information on local government, with an easy to use subject guide.
National Governors Association (NGA) is a policy organization for state governors.The NGA develops policy reports on various state programs, and maintains the NGA Center for Best Practices, which focuses on state innovations and best practices on issues that range from education and health to technology, welfare reform, and the environment.
The National Bureau of Economic Research was founded in 1920 as a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works.
Bill Tracking is a database maintained by the American Association of Law Libraries, and has links to each state's bill tracking database, dates of coverage, and legislative session information.
Maplight.org is a "mash-up" of information on California and federal bills, combining the official bill text and the votes of legislators with data from FollowtheMoney.org. You can search by bills, legislators, or interest groups.
Lexis and Westlaw may be useful for comparing state statutes. If you need to find all of the state statutes on a particular topic, it may be easier to first consult the "Comparative State Law" resources listed above in the "Print Resources" section of this page. However, if someone else has not previously compiled a list of all of the statutes on a particular topic, then you may need to do the research yourself. Lexis and Westlaw are both good sources for compiling lists of state statutes, bills, and regulations.
The Public Policy Institute of California is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank dedicated to informing and improving public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research.
Library Assistance
Library Hours:
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Saturday: 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday: 9:00 AM - 11:00
Getting Help with your Project: The Reference Librarians are available to help you plan your research strategy and to help you find the resources that might be useful in your project. It is best to call (or e-mail) one of the Reference Librarians, and make an appointment before coming in to discuss your project.
Reference Librarians:
Hilary Hardcastle, 565-4792,
Chuck Marcus, 565-4838,
Susan Nevelow Mart, 565-4759,
Vincent Moyer, 565-4752,
Tony Pelczynski, 565-4768,
Linda Weir, 565-4761,
Reference Desk Hours:
Mon-Fri: 8:30 - 5:30
Sat: 9:00 - 5:00
Last updated October 6, 2009
Prepared by Faculty Services Librarian,