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Resource Guide for New Law Faculty: Books

A guide designed to introduce new faculty to the research and teaching resources available from the MU Law Library.

Quick and Dirty

  1. Go to Discover Resources at MU Law.  
  2. Do a keyword search for your topic, i.e. memory and conflict.
  3. Look for a book that looks like it is on topic. 
  4. Look at the subject headings.  Click on the subject heading that looks most applicable. 
  5. Rinse and repeat.

Search MOBIUS catalog


MU Law Library Catalogs

At MU, two library catalogs are available to faculty, staff, and students. 

The larger catalog is MOBIUS, which is self-described as consisting of " 59 academic libraries, 2 public libraries, and the Missouri State Library. The organization's purpose is to share library materials, information, and services using accessible, cost effective methods. Today, the MOBIUS Union Catalog has expanded to include more than 23 million items, serving over 750,000 people from the higher education community and the state of Missouri."

Discover Resources at MU Law includes the MU Law Library catalog and connects you with Missouri S & T, UMSL and UMKC (including UMKC Law) catalogs.   

Not Just Books

Honestly, the MU Law Library catalog isn't just for books anymore. You'll find links to electronic resources in Westlaw, Lexis, HeinOnline, and other research databases.

Requesting Books in the Library Catalog

If you find an item in our catalog that is unavailable on MU's campus and would like to borrow it then you can do so by following these steps:

Click on the "Place Request" option.

At the next screen:

  • You will be given instructions to log in using your campus e-mail username or your name and 8-digit EMPL ID.
  • Once logged in, choose a Pickup Location from drop-down menu. This indicates where you want the book sent.
  • Click Submit. The system will respond with a message telling you that the item is being sent. IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY, PLEASE ASK A LIBRARIAN FOR HELP.

If available in another library, requested items generally arrive in 2-4 days.  You will receive an email notice when your book has arrived.  Contact a librarian if you have questions.

Requesting Books in MOBIUS

If you find an item in MOBIUS that you wish to borrow, then follow these steps:

Click on "Request this Item".

You will be asked to choose your library from the drop-down menu, choose "MOBIUS - University of Missouri - Law" and then click on the "Submit information" button.

At the next screen:

  • Type your name
  • Enter your campus e-mail username and password.
  • Choose a Pickup Cluster from drop-down menu.
  • Choose a Pickup Location from drop-down menu. (The codes in this list are the institution codes for the selected cluster.) This indicates where you want the book sent.
  • Submit your request. The system will respond with a message telling you that the item is being sent. IF YOU ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY, PLEASE ASK A LIBRARIAN FOR HELP.

Catalog Search Operators

Search Operators
   
Examples:
Adjacency Multiple words are searched together as one phrase. University of Missouri
Truncation Use * to substitute for 1-5 characters.
Use ** to substitute for any number of characters.
Use ? to substitute for a single character. 		Photograph*
huck** finn
wom?n
Operators Use "AND" to search all words.
Use "OR" to search ANY single word.
Use "AND NOT" to exclude words. 		art and therapy
dog or canine
  environmental policy and not U.S.
  Note that you can use these clauses in combination with selections from the operator pulldown menu (as indicated in brackets). History [And]
Naples or Napoli [And]
Borgia or Alexander
Proximity Use "NEAR" to search words within 10 words of each other.
Use "WITHIN #" to search words within a specific number of words. 		birds near North America
  missouri within 2 university
Field limits Use labels to search specific fields:
a: author t: title s: subject n: note 		a: zora and t:watching
s:hopi and s:religion

Getting Around the Law Library

 

Who does what?

Sometimes it is nice to know who to ask. Your library liaison is always a great person to ask, but you can always ask at the Reference Desk, or use our webpage to see who does what at the MU Law Library.

Interlibrary Loan

Not finding the item you need at Discover Resources at MU Law and MOBIUS? Mizzou Law faculty, staff & students can borrow items from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Fill out this form to request the items you need for your research.  This guide to Interlibrary loan explains all the details.