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Law Review and Journal Articles: Print Indexes

Points to Remember

Currently, the Law Library only updates the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals in print.

Search Strategy

The print indexes are organized by topic, author, and/or title, so there are a number of ways in which you can find relevant articles. Keep in mind, print indexes are organized by year and are not cumulative. You will need to select the appropriate year or years when conducting your search. 

Index to Legal Periodicals

(1886-2008). Located in the General Collection.

The Index to Legal Periodicals indexes approximately 600 English-language periodicals.  Features include:  Table of Abbreviations; List of Subject Headings; Author/Subject Index (combined); Table of Cases; Table of Statutes; and Book Review Index.  Early 1980s to the present are available electronically through Wilson's Index to Legal Periodicals, Lexis Library (LAWREV; ILP) and the Westlaw database (ILP).

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals

Covers the period from 1960 to the present.  These volumes are located in the General Collection.

This index contains references to books and articles about international law and comparative law and the laws of countries other than the United States, the British Isles and the British Commonwealth, whose systems have a common law basis.

What is an Index?

An Index is a bibliographic source (list of books, topics, authors, etc.) that typically arranges these citations by subject, author, and title so that the researcher can easily find the correct article or book.

Why Would I Need to Use a Print Index?

If you are performing historical research, print indexes might be required. Sometimes, older and very important articles are not included in some of the electronic sources because the article was published before the index began its coverage.

Current Law Index

Located in the General Collection.  Coverage is from 1981-2000.

Indexes approximately 850 worldwide legal periodicals, including practice-oriented periodicals. Features include: Subject/Proper Name Index (separate); Author/Title Index (separate); Table of Cases, and Table of Statutes.  Available electronically through the Westlaw database (LRI).