LibGuides: Current Awareness and Alerting Resources: Law reviews and journals

Types of alerts

There are several different types of alerts that can be set up for tracking recent scholarship of interest. Many of the legal literature databases and online legal indices that the Law Library subscribes to allow researchers to create several types of alerts, including:

Table of Content alerts - ToC alerts notify researchers when a new issue of a periodical of interest is published or added to a database.

While many legal literature databases provide a table of content alert service, there can often be a delay from when a journal is published and when the content is added to the database.

To receive the most timely table of content alerts it is best to either sign up for alerts directly from the journal website or using a current awareness service or app like SmartCILP, JournalTOCs or BrowZine.
Saved search and topic alerts - Saved search and topic alerts notify researchers when new content is added to a database that matches a topic of interest or keyword search created by the researcher.

Current Indext Legal Periodicals (CILP)

SmartCILP

SmartCILP is a weekly personalized current awareness tool that indexes over 650 legal periodicals several weeks ahead of other legal periodical indices.

Users create their own profile to receive ToC alerts to selected periodicals and topic alerts for new articles in their area(s) of research. The weekly email includes links to the full-text of the listed articles in HeinOnline, WestlawNext, and LexisNexis.

Before creating your SmartCILP profile contact lawref@uvic.ca to obtain a SmartCilp authorization code. Access is limited to current UVic Law Faculty and students.

BrowZine

Browzine Web
BrowZine is a browseable newsstand of the library's journals. Easily discovery, read, and monitor the key journals in your field.

To setup Browzine:

On your tablets and smartphones:

IOS users (iOS5.1 or higher) and Android users (Android 4.0 or higher) download the app here
Once installed, open the app and select "University of Victoria/UVIC" as your library
Enter your NetLink ID and password
Begin browsing ejournals by subject categories or searching for your favourite journals by title
Add titles to your bookshelf (automatic updates will show when next issues become available)

You can also use Browzine on your computer's internet browser.

JournalTOCs

JournalTOCs

JournalTOCs is a free current awareness tool that allows researchers to sign up for table of content email alerts.

LegalTrac

LegalTrac
Provides indexing and considerable full text coverage for US and Canadian titles including major law reviews, legal newspapers, bar association journals and international legal journals.

1. To create a ToC alert in LegalTrac first locate the periodical you want alerts for by selecting 'Publication Search'

2. Next, locate the journal by entering the name of the journal or browsing through the list of all publications.

3. Create your alert by selecting 'Create Journal Alert'

4. Finish creating your alert by entering your email address. Alternatively you can use the URL to receive your alert via RSS feed.

1. To create a search alert in LegalTrac start by running your keyword search:

2. Once you have a search you want to create an alert for select 'Create search alert':

3. Complete your search alert by entering your email address and selecting how often you want to receive alerts. Alternatively you may choose to receive your alerts via an RSS feed.

Index to Legal Periodicals and Books

Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text
Comprehensive index to key English language legal literature. Includes coverage of scholarly articles, books, book reviews and jurisdictional surveys. Database also provides access to a considerable number of full text articles.

Watch this short video to learn how to set up a ToC alert in Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (video).

Watch this short video to learn how to set up a saved search alert in Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (video).

HeinOnline
HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library provides full-text access to Canadian, US and other foreign and international law journals. Coverage is generally from the first issue published. For some journals there is a 1 year delay in accessing the full-text of current year's volume.

Watch this short video to learn how to set up a ToC alert in HeinOnline (video).

SSRN - Legal Scholarship Network

Legal Scholarship Network (SSRN) Facilitates the distribution of scholarly information related to law for legal, economics, business scholars, and practitioners. LSN relies on authors in the legal community to submit information about their work. LSN is a division of Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

The Law Library has a subscription to the Legal Scholarship Network on SSRN. SSRN's ejournals are an email alerting service comprised of abstracts of recently added journal articles, working papers and pre-press journal articles on your topic(s) of choice.

Law faculty and grad students interested in receiving Legal Scholarship Network ejournals please contact Contact any of our law librarians or email lawref@uvic.ca.

Law Commons (Digital Commons Network)

Law Commons

The Law Commons is an open access repository of full-text journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and conference proceedings. Researchers can also sign up for weekly emails listing newly added content in their areas of interest.