Legal books, journal articles, encyclopedias, and so on are called SECONDARY sources because they explain the primary law, they are not the law itself. Only legislation and cases are PRIMARY law.
Unless you are already familiar with a legal subject, a secondary source will save you hours of time trying to understand the basics, and identifying key cases and relevant legislation.
Excellent starting points:
Excellent starting point:
Irwin Law publishes a great series of books written in plain English called Essentials of Canadian Law.
You can read all of these Irwin Law books online through the KPU Library! Look for a book in this series on the broad legal topic you are researching, and then read the chapter on your specific topic. Watch this video on How to Search for Irwin Law on vLex for more advanced search options
Once you have a list of items on your topic in Summon, use the FILTERS on the left menu to NARROW down your matches to Books/eBooks.
1. Think more broadly
You may not find an entire book on a specific topic such as OCCUPIER'S LIABILITY, but you will find chapters on this topic in a book on the broader topic of TORT law.
2. Look at a list of recommended books in different areas of law
Check this list of scholarly legal texts on different topics. You can use the KPU Library catalogue. to see if we have the book.
The CriminalSource database includes over 15 scholarly texts; look in the Commentary section, under Texts and Annotations. You can search them all at once, or read specific titles.
Here are a few of the texts in CriminalSource:
Use the power of call numbers to find useful items on the shelf!
Call numbers are the letters and numbers that libraries use to organize books and other items on the shelf. Each item has a label attached to its 'spine' or side showing the call number. The call numbers are designed to group items on similar topics together. Once you find one good item, it pays to look for others on the shelves nearby.
Most legal materials have call numbers starting with the letter K. Here's a more detailed breakdown to help you zero in on specific areas:
KE 1-9450 Law of Canada
KE 919 Business law
KE 1232 Tort law
KE 2550 Media law
KE 4219 Constitutional law
KE 4381.5 Charter of Rights and Freedoms
KE 4422 Freedom of the press
KE 8809 Criminal law
KE 8839 Criminal law defences
KE 9260 Criminal law procedure
KE 9355 Criminal law sentences
KE 9445 Youth criminal law
KEB 1-599 Law of British Columbia
Legal resources on specific topics may be shelved in other areas.
All levels of government develop laws (or bylaws). They also create programs and services which they regularly evaluate, and conduct research. Reports from this work are available in a variety of ways. The KPU Library's Guide to Government Information lists some good search tools.
One handy tool is the Canadian Public Documents Collection (CPDC). It is especially strong for federal government publications, as well as reports from non-governmental agencies such as research institutes and 'think tanks'.
Two excellent tools for searching other library collections:
Note: You can also search individual local and Canadian library catalogues.
If KPU Library does not have a book that would like to borrow, you have two options:
Note: during the COVID-19 pandemic, some libraries are not lending items through interlibrary loan.
Note: during the COVID-19 pandemic, check first whether the other library is open.