Finding Full Text Books Online
[last updated Apr. 2008]
[This page excludes sources directed purely at case law, statutes, journals, or government documents.]

For journals, see Finding Articles

There are growing numbers of online resources for searching and reading or downloading full text books, including law-related titles.  Some commercial databases contain current works while other free databases contain primarily out-of-copyright books in PDF or HTML format.  Below are a set of quick links to getting a researcher started looking for electronic versions of print books available to law students without a fee.

Current Law

The first option for seeking law books in full text are the standard Westlaw and LexisNexis databases which are restricted to law students/faculty with usernames and passwords.   Each database has its own sets of treatises, practitioner works, selected loose-leaf services, encyclopedias, and form books.  Law subjects covered vary and the source publishers will also differ between the two services. 

•  (1) Search PONI and look for "electronic resource" records.  Or, (2) search the Law Library's A-Z Electronic Journals list.  An advantage of the A-Z list is that it is updated daily. While the web page says "e-journals," there are also a significant number of treatises from Westlaw and LexisNexis as well as newspapers and other non-law periodicals on the list.  Unfortunately, the A-Z list is not comprehensive with respect to all titles in these databases.  
• If a title is not in PONI nor on the A-Z list, (3) check for a specific title using the "Find a Database Wizard" in Westlaw or the "Find a Source" tab in LexisNexis.  You can also go to the Westlaw Database Directory or the LexisNexis Directory of Online Sources to search for titles without logging into either database. 

Alternatively, the law library subscribes to commercial services that contain the electronic text of current law books and/or loose-leaf services.  These are accessed from the library's Research Tools-Find Articles & Databases web page at http://library.law.smu.edu (restricted to law student/faculty access).  Among the databases that contain electronic full texts are:

• BNA Online  (loose-leaf services on antitrust, banking, criminal law, electronic commerce, environment, family, health, intellectual property, international trade, legal ethics, securities regulation, tax, and the U.S. Supreme Court).
• CCH Internet Research Network (Business & Finance) (loose-leafs and books on antitrust, arbitration, banking, corporate governance, energy, government contracts, intellectual property, international business, mergers & acquisitions, products liability, transportation & aviation law).
• CCH OmniTax Library (federal, state, & international tax loose-leafs and books).
• HeinOnline, "Legal Classics" library (all subject areas; 1,274 book titles as of 04/30/08). Press <Enter Site>. (restricted to SMU access)
• Making of Modern Law, British & U.S. Legal Treatises from 1800 to 1926 (all subject areas).
• RIA Checkpoint (federal, state, & international tax loose-leafs and books).

A less direct alternative for identifying relevant law books is to search the Wilson Index to Legal Periodicals and Books Online.  This index allows restricting keyword search results to just index entries for books.  The books may or may not, however, be available in electronic format. The service is accessible through the library's Research Tools-Find Articles & Databases web page.  Go to the alphabetical list under "W."

Law and Non-law

SMU subscribes to selected books in electronic format from NetLibrary.  These titles are found in the online catalog (PONI) and encompass a wide range of fields including some law-related titles.  Do a keyword search for netlibrary and ____  (keyword or keywords appropriate to topic) to restrict your search to just these electronic books.  Consider the copyright date of the publication found and compare it to latest available print edition.

SMU subscribes to the Early English Books Online database.  This is accessible from the SMU Online Resources page or from PONI.  Digital page images of books published between 1473 and 1700, primarily in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America.  Fully keyword searchable.

Primarily Historical Law and Non-law Titles

On the Internet, there are resources for the free electronic text of out-of-copyright books.  The majority of these books were published prior to 1950, but there are exceptions.  The means of access to the contents will vary.  Resources may be lists of individual works, may allow keyword searching of titles, and/or have keyword searching of the full text.  This list is restricted to sources that contain at least some law publications.

• If you have a particular author or book in mind, first try searching the University of Pennsylvania's "The Online Books Page."   The site is an index to 25,000+ free titles in English and can be browsed by author, title, subject or keyword searched for author or title words.  The website indexes both converted print books and electronic-only texts as well as books found beyond the resources listed below.  Note the criteria used for adding titles.  (The index should not be considered the sole source to search, but titles are added constantly.)
• Google Books.  Suggest using "advanced book search" link for most effective research; can restrict to "full view books" to eliminate fee-based titles from search results.  (all subject areas including law).
• HeinOnline, "Legal Classics" library (all subject areas; 1,274 book titles as of 04/30/08). Press <Enter Site>. (restricted to SMU access)
• Liberty Library of Constitutional Classics (list of American, British, and European works) (variety of downloadable formats).
• Live Search Books (search by keywords or phrases in quotation marks) (all subject areas including law). (Sponsored by Microsoft.)
• Project Gutenberg (HTML, plain text, PDF, and other formats) (all subject areas including a few law-related).
   

Try using an Internet search engine such as Google or Vivisimo to find works by searching for keywords from a known title.

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