collections
The cardinal principle guiding the libraries’ Information Resources Policy is the development and maintenance of legal information resources that support the practice of law in Alberta and ensure an archival collection of Alberta law in print. In general, the libraries do not acquire non-legal materials; exceptions are reference materials and limited collections of accounting and medical books. The collection contains nearly 200,000 volumes in 11 libraries and our staff offers reference and research assistance to the legal profession, other libraries and the public.
We have exceptionally strong collections of Canadian law, including statutes and case reports for all 10 provinces and federal jurisdictions and a broad range of legal treatises, law periodicals, and loose-leaf services relevant to legal research and practice. Significant historical collections of English, Scottish, Irish, Australian and American case reports are also held.
All libraries contain a core collection of print materials considered essential to the practice of law in Alberta, including continuing legal education materials of the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA) and the Canadian Bar Association (Alberta).
These traditional print resources are complemented by an array of electronic resources, many of which are freely accessible at public computer workstations in our libraries. Our Public Services staff has also selected and organised selected websites to provide free access to legal information on the Internet.
Through resource-sharing agreements, collections of other Canadian law society and university libraries are available for borrowing or document delivery.