Summer is coming–really! And with it, questions about access to our databases. Read on for answers for both continuing students and those of you who will soon be alumni!
BLOOMBERG LAW
For summer: if your workplace has a Bloomberg Law account, you are expected to use that, but there are no restrictions on your HLS Bloomberg accounts over the summer. Need an account? Just sign up with your HLS email address.
For new alumni: graduating students will have access to Bloomberg Law for a six month post-graduation grace period, ending November 30, 2018.
For questions and assistance with Bloomberg Law, please contact our rep, Rebecca Schwartz.
LEXIS
For summer: Harvard Law students have free, unlimited summer access, regardless of their summer position, to Lexis Advance for the summer of 2018. Students can use their Harvard Law student account regardless of whether they are getting paid to work this summer. Please note that some employers may ask that students not conduct work related legal research on their school ID. So long as a student has a current, active Lexis Advance account, they do not need to sign-up for anything to take advantage of summer access.
For new alumni: graduating students will have free, unlimited access to Lexis Advance through their HLS accounts until June 2018. In July 2018, Lexis Advance student IDs will automatically transition to Graduate IDs. Graduate IDs are not affiliated with the law school and expire on December 31, 2018. Graduate IDs offer recent graduates the opportunity to continue to do free, unlimited research on Lexis Advance while studying for the bar and becoming more confident with their legal research skills.
For questions and assistance with Lexis, please contact our rep, Reeves Gillis.
WESTLAW
For summer: You can use Thomson Reuters products, including Westlaw and Practical Law, over the summer for non-commercial research. You can turn to these resources to gain understanding and build confidence in your research skills, but you cannot use them in situations where you are billing a client. Examples of permissible uses for your academic password include the following:
- Summer coursework
- Research assistant assignments
- Law Review or Journal research
- Moot Court research
- Non-Profit work
- Clinical work
- Externship sponsored by the school
- Pro bono work required or encouraged by the school
You do not have to do anything to gain access to these tools over the summer.
For new alumni: you have access to Thomson Reuters products, including Westlaw and Practical Law, for six months after graduation by registering for Grad Elite access here. Your “Grad Elite” access gives you 60-hours of usage on these products per month to gain understanding and build confidence in your research skills. While you cannot use it in situations where you are billing a client, Thomson Reuters encourages you to use these tools to build your knowledge of the law and prepare for your bar exam.
For questions and assistance with Westlaw, please contact our Thomson Reuters Academic Account Manager, Mark Frongillo.
OTHER DATABASES
Continuing students have full access over the summer to most other library resources at Harvard simply using your HUIDs and PINs. So if you need JSTOR, HeinOnline, Academic Search Premier or most other databases, you’re all set!
New alumni continue to have access to some databases, including HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library and the CQ Press Library, a great source for information and data on government and politics. Click through to our guide to Library Services for HLS Alumni for information about how to claim your Harvard Key and get access, plus learn about other resources for alumni and how to stay connected from afar.
QUESTIONS?
If you have questions about summer access, alumni access, or any research-related questions over the summer and beyond, you can always contact the library. Our full contact details are available at Ask a Librarian.