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Posted by: Christine Sellers
The following is a guest post by Megan Lulofs, a Legal Information Analyst in the Public Services Division. About a month ago, I received a seemingly simple question through our Ask A Librarian service: was there ever a New York court case between a Barnum and a Hannum in 1869 or 1870, and if so, …
Posted in: Ask A Librarian, Law Library
Posted by: Christine Sellers
I’ve previously shared some of the questions that have come in through our Ask A Librarian service, but I have not yet blogged about some of the questions we get in person in the Reading Room. Recently, a patron* asked for assistance in researching a U.S. Supreme Court case about her grandfather: Watkins v. U.S., …
Posted in: Ask A Librarian, Law Library
Posted by: Christine Sellers
Sometimes, the online questions we get through “Ask A Librarian” are harder to answer than others, as my previous posts can attest. A couple of weeks ago, someone* inquired about a reference notation in the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, Public Law 76-1, 53 Stat. 1. At the end of Section 22 on page 9, …
Posted in: Ask A Librarian, Law Library
Posted by: Christine Sellers
My 11th grade English teacher* sent me a Facebook message a couple of weeks ago asking for assistance in locating the records and briefs from Brown v. Board of Education. I replied with a list of resources, including exhibits at the Library of Congress and the National Archives. In answering his question, I realized that …
Posted in: Ask A Librarian, Collections, Law Library, Research Guide
Posted by: Christine Sellers
As you can see from my previous post on researching Al Capone’s jury, some of the questions that come through “Ask A Librarian” can be quite fascinating. Some on their face appear simple, but upon further research, reveal hidden depths. A recent question involved a private law from the 71st Congress (1929-1931).* Private laws affect …
Posted in: Ask A Librarian, Law Library, THOMAS
Posted by: Christine Sellers
As you saw from Kelly’s post, we have quite a group of foreign legal specialists working for us. She mentions the legal reference librarians that work at the Law Library and you may have found yourself asking “what is a legal reference librarian?” and “how does someone become one of those?” The answer to that, …
Posted in: Ask A Librarian, Education, Law Library
Posted by: Christine Sellers
A few weeks ago my mother asked me to research a bit of family lore. Like a good daughter sometimes does, I forgot. But then! Then I saw the exact same question in our “Ask A Librarian” service! (For background, patrons may send a question through the Library of Congress “Ask A Librarian” service. These …
Posted in: Ask A Librarian