Resources for Research Assistants: Home

This guide is intended to introduce research assistants for Penn Law faculty members to essential tools to help them conduct their work.  A broad range of resources will be covered, but there may be specific tools or research strategies that are best suited to the individual research problem you have been given.  Biddle's reference librarians are happy to assist you in finding the right databases, print materials, or websites for your project, and to advise you on how to effeciently complete your task.

Start by searching for relevant books and other material on your subject in one or all of the catalogs below:

To search for relevant print and electronic titles on your subject, consult Biddle's online catalog and the Penn general library system's Franklin online catalog. If you cannot find material on your subject on Penn's campus, consider checking the catalog of Drexel University's library system, or searching the WorldCat catalog for material in libraries elsewhere. 

Catalog Search
Biddle's online catalog contains information on books, journals and other print and electronic materials related to law in the Biddle collection. Catalog records often contain table of contents information, accessible through a Keyword or Title search.  Biddle also offers lists of E-Resources, with databases and websites arranged alphabetically and by subject.

Franklin
The online catalog of the University of Pennsylvania Library System contains information on books, journals and other materials held in the 13 other campus libraries. Please note that Franklin does not include materials held at Biddle, so these resources must be searched separately through Biddle Catalog.

Drexel
Drexel University's online catalog contains information on the holdings of the Drexel Library system, located at 33rd and Market Streets. Penn Law students have borrowing privileges at Drexel and can copy materials.

WorldCat
OCLC WorldCat is a catalog of international library holdings.  If you find an item in WorldCat that is not available on the University of Pennsylvania campus, consult Biddle Law Library's Interlibrary Loan (ILL) procedures for instructions on how to borrow it.

A variety of guides are available on how to conduct the research process.  Below are a few examples, and more can be found by searching Biddle Catalog.