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Category: Research Guide

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Family Law: A Beginner’s Guide – Part 2: Child Custody, Support, and Adoption

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post is coauthored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, legal reference specialists. In Part Two of our Family Law Beginner’s Guide, we are shifting our focus to what the law says about children’s roles in the family—focusing on their custody and care.  Below, please find information and resources for legal researchers regarding child custody, …

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Discovery: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, Legal Reference Specialists. We receive a wide array of questions here at the Law Library of Congress—from detailed foreign legal research, to tracing U.S. federal legislation, and everything in between—but one area of legal research on which we consistently receive requests for assistance is the …

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Municipal Codes: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, Legal Reference Specialists. Although we are likely more frequently asked about federal laws here at the Law Library of Congress, we do receive quite a number of reference requests concerning state and local law.  Of these non-federal requests, some of the more challenging questions deal …

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Social Security Disability Law: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, Legal Reference Librarians. Social Security disability benefits have taken on an ever-increasing role in the press in recent months, and as such, it is no surprise that the Law Library of Congress has received many questions regarding the law in this area.  In this post, …

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Federal Statutes: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer. One of the most frequent requests we receive from patrons at the reference desk at the Law Library Reading Room is for help in tracking down statutes passed by the United States Congress.  While at first glance, finding a statute may seem straightforward, there are …

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Debates of Congress: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer One of our most frequent requests at the Law Library of Congress is to help patrons with their legislative history research.  Often, researchers will want information about the votes and debates made on the floor of Congress in order to track the history of the …

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Government Contracts: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, Legal Reference Librarians. Despite the federal government’s recent reduction in spending—according to Bloomberg, federal “government spending on contracts fell 3.1 percent last year, the biggest one-year decline since 1997”—government contracting is still a big business nationwide.  The multitude of laws and regulations that control a …

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Nonprofit Organizations: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

Nonprofit organizations have become a critical part of American culture.  Not only is the nonprofit sector one of the “fastest-growing part[s] of the U.S. economy,” but also, as a recent study by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Public Policy has shown, nonprofit workers make up approximately 10.2% of the total U.S. workforce. It is no …