Institutional law libraries, especially those in prisons and other secure environments, operate under very different conditions than academic or firm libraries. Limited space, strict policies, and diverse user needs all shape how collections are built and maintained.

Our latest publication, Recommended Collections for Prison and Other Institution Law Libraries (7th Edition), offers practical guidance for navigating those challenges.

A Trusted Resource, Updated for Today

Recommended Collections for Prison and Other Institution Law Libraries has long been a go-to resource for building institutional law library collections. Now, for the first time in nearly 30 years, it has been fully revised.

Originally published in 1972, this title has helped define collection standards for decades. Notably, the new edition reflects how much legal research has changed, from evolving publication formats to the growing role of digital resources.

With contributions from 33 experts across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom, the book provides a structured, jurisdiction-specific approach to collection development.

Why Institutional Law Libraries Need a Different Approach

Institutional law libraries are built for very specific environments. They need to support access to the law while working within real constraints.

This means collections must:

• Cover both federal and jurisdiction-specific law
• Fit within a limited physical space
• Balance print and digital formats
• Be usable by people with varying levels of legal experience

This edition is designed with those realities in mind. It gives correctional librarians, administrators, and planners a clear way to evaluate and build collections that actually work in practice.

What’s New in the Seventh Edition

The Seventh Edition marks the first full revision of this reference since 1996, and in the decades that followed, legal publishing formats, subscription research platforms, and official web-based legal resources evolved substantially. Beyond that, this edition responds to those changes by modernizing its recommendations and integrating practical planning considerations for today’s institutional environments.

Comprehensive modernization of all recommended titles to reflect current legal publishing formats and available editions

Digital research evolution that integrates web-based resources, subscription platforms, and hybrid collection models

Expanded jurisdictional coverage across all U.S. states, plus Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom

Integrated planning guidance with shelf space requirements and cost ranges for informed collection decisions

A Simple Framework That Works

The book is organized in a way that makes collection building more manageable. Specifically, it follows a two-part framework.

Universal Materials

The Universal Materials establish the federal baseline for institutional law libraries by identifying the primary authorities and essential secondary sources appropriate across jurisdictions before state- or region-specific materials are incorporated.

Recommendations are organized into primary federal resources, essential reference works, and additional core subject areas.

Jurisdictional Materials

Building on that federal foundation, the Jurisdictional Materials provide state- and region-specific recommendations tailored to each covered jurisdiction.

Also, each chapter identifies primary authorities, relevant secondary and supplementary sources, and organized official web-based legal resources. Where available, estimated shelf space requirements and approximate cost ranges are included to support realistic acquisition and infrastructure planning.

Developed by 33 contributors with jurisdictional expertise, these recommendations reflect coordinated professional judgment applied across diverse institutional environments.

About the Editors

Kristen R. Moore is the Associate Director of the Stetson University College of Law, Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library, where she also teaches Advanced Legal Research. She earned her B.A. from the University of South Florida, her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law, and her M.L.I.S. from the University of South Florida. She is a member of the Florida Bar and the American Association of Law Libraries. She has co-authored several books, including Free Internet Legal Research, Veterans’ Issues: A Legal Research Guide, and Tribal Codes: A Legal Research Guide.

R. Martin Witt has been at Columbia Law School in a variety of roles since March 2013 and is the co-author of Where the Law Is: An Introduction to Advanced Legal Research (5th edition). Before joining Columbia Law School, he was the reference librarian and international/comparative specialist, as well as an adjunct professor, at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Fla. He earned his JD from Albany Law School and practiced in Albany, NY until 2009, when he left to pursue a career in law librarianship.  He accepted a law librarian fellow position at the University of Denver’s Westminster Law Library while he earned his master’s of library and information science (M.L.I.S.) with a law librarianship specialization. For his M.L.I.S. practicum project, Witt traveled to Shenzhen, China, where he spent six weeks as an intern for the Peking University School of Transnational Law, Legal Research Center. He was also an intern for the National Indian Law Library during his time in Colorado.

Order Your Copy Today

If your work involves supporting legal research in institutional settings, this updated edition is worth a closer look.

Recommended Collections for Prison and Other Institution Law Libraries, 7th Edition

Editors: Kristen R. Moore & R. Martin Witt
Item #: 1007105
ISBN: 9780837743202
Pages: 184
1 Volume (AALL Publications Series No. 91)…$130.00
Published: Getzville; William S. Hein & Co., Inc.; 2026

*AALL standing order customers automatically receive this title

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