Much more so than in American law, in international law much of the best scholarship appears in books.  There are books reviewing the most important sources, issues and policy debates on virtually every topic.  You are strongly urged to find both “classic” books and the most recent books on each issue you research.  Unlike articles, which often focus on a narrow legal issue or specific controversy, these books have a general focus and review the entire area of law systematically.  So for doctrinal areas such as the law of treaties, state responsibility, the status of international organizations and others, the best sources are books.

Obviously start with the Wayne Law School catalogue.  But don’t stop there.  While our international law collection is good, we do not get everything.  Your next option is to use MeLCat, a resource-sharing consortium in Michigan which includes numerous research libraries across the state.  The library’s online catalog will prompt you to search MeLCat for a resource if the Wayne State Library System does not own or subscribe to it. 

In addition, Wayne has a very fast and efficient interlibrary loan service. Just click on the INTERLIBRARY LOAN tab on the Law Library web site to get started.

It is strongly suggested that you also look at catalogues from places that do get everything and, if you find titles we don’t own, fill out an inter-library loan request.   Two good places to start are the Yale Law Library (http://morris.law.yale.edu/) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts (http://library.tufts.edu/).  Once you find a book you’d like to request, fill out a WSU ILL Request Form.  Your book or journal article should arrive in about a week.