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Graduate Research in Law

A guide to the library resources for the graduate programmes at Dalhousie Law School.

Welcome!

As a graduate student in the Schulich School of Law you can access the following services and supports. Graduate students in other faculties enjoy many of the same privileges but may have limited database access. Please contact the Reference and Research Support desk if you have questions: lawref@dal.ca or 902-494-2124.

  • Graduate students can borrow books held by the Sir James Dunn Law Library or any of the Novanet Consortium libraries. See below for more information on Novanet and Resource Sharing requests.
  • Graduate students will have access to all Dalhousie campus wide legal databases and research platforms on or off campus. See below for more about database access.
  • Graduate students can request materials not available locally but held by other Canadian or international libraries for pick-up at your home library at no charge. See below for more about Document Delivery requests.
  • Graduate students will have access to wireless and on-site printing through DalCard and the Papercut system. See below for more about printing.
  • Graduate students can arrange research consultations with Reference Librarians to discuss research planning, literature reviews, citations, and more. See more below about making appointments.
  • Graduate students in Law will be provided with free access to the Westlaw Edge Canada and Lexis+ legal research platforms at no cost. See below for more about database access.
  • Graduate students in Law may have access to shared office space in the Grad Pad on the fourth floor of the library. Space assignments are handled through the Department of Graduate Studies in the Schulich School of Law.

Novanet Libraries Catalogue

Image of a student DalCardThe Sir James Dunn Law Library holds 164,000 print volumes and thousands of e-books and e-journals that are discoverable through the Novanet Catalogue. Novanet is a consortium of 29 academic libraries. Through the Novanet catalogue you can search for materials at Dalhousie libraries or any Novanet member library. Your DalCard is your library card.

The university will provide basic information to the library for all new students, but you should come to a library information desk to ensure your information is correct and current. Logging into the Novanet catalogue using your Dalhousie NetID and Password will allow you to view your account, view and renew loaned books, view current requests for materials, and see any outstanding fines or costs associated with your library account. You can also request books and materials from other Dalhousie Libraries

To request a book, a book chapter, or an article not held by our library, you can use the Request button in Novanet to request copies available in the Dalhousie libraries, and then in the Novanet network. The document will be delivered to the library of your choice physically or by email digitally when that option is available.

Document Delivery

For books, articles, and other materials not held at the law library or other Novanet libraries, researchers have the option of Document Delivery. This service allows you to place a request for the materials, and we will locate the item and borrow from that holding library anywhere in the world. There is no cost for this service, although the researcher would be responsible for any late return fines. You can place a Document Delivery request through the link on our library homepage or here:

Document Delivery

Legal Databases Access

In additional to the general research databases available through the Dalhousie Libraries, the Law Library subscribes to law specific databases for Canadian, Foreign, and International Law Research. A full list is available here. These databases can be accessed on campus through computers on the Dalhousie network, or off campus by logging in, when prompted, using your Dalhousie NetID and Password.

In addition to these campus wide subscriptions, Graduate students have access to the research platforms Westlaw Edge Canada and Lexis+ Canada. Access is provided through individually assigned passwords managed through the library. Passwords can only be used for educational research. For questions about your password access please contact mark.lewis@dal.ca.

Grad Pad

 Law GradPad Discussion Room   Law GradPad Common Area   Law GradPad Meeting Room

The Grad Pad is located on the fourth floor of the Law Library. It offers office spaces, a hotelling work space, a common work space, two discussion rooms: 405H and 405E, and a meeting room: 405A. During the day the Grad Pad can be accessed through the library. After hours the Grad Pad is only accessible through the Law School. Law graduate students can contact the Law Graduate studies department for information on office availability. Meeting rooms can be booked through the booking system here.

Reference and Research Support

On the main floor of the Law Library you will find the Reference and Research Support Desk. This desk is staffed Monday to Friday between 10am-4pm. Here you can get help locating materials or assistance with research planning. For more indepth questions you can also book an appointment for a research consultation with a reference librarian. Appointments can be arranged by emailing librarians directly or by lawref@dal.ca or 902-494-2124.

  • Mark Lewis, Reference and IT Librarian (mark.lewis@dal.ca)
  • Hannah Steeves, Instruction and Reference Librarian (On Sabbatical 2022-2023)
  • David Michels, Public Services Librarian (david.michels@dal.ca)

Printing and Scanning

Web Print - Students can print wirelessly using the WebPrint service. Please select DAL-LAW-LC as your printer. This is located next to the Information desk in the Sir James Dunn Law Library. You need to have money on your DalCard.

Learning Commons - Computers in the Learning Commons print to the DAL-LAW-LC printer next to the Information Desk. Print requests sent from these computers automatically debit from my DalCard account. You need to have money on your DalCard account.

Law Computer Lab (In Basement) - Computers in the Lab print to Dal-Law-Prosecution printer in the lab. Print requests sent from these computers automatically debit from my DalCard account. You need to have money on your DalCard account.