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After a quarter century of publishing our newsletter on our website, we’re moving to a new delivery platform! We’re excited to announce that WSLL @ Your Service can now be easily subscribed to through a new, convenient email list manager.
For new subscribers, joining our list is easy. Head to the subscriber page, and sign up for the library newsletter. While you’re there, check out the other news alerts from the library, and the Wisconsin Court System.
Don’t worry, our newsletters will still be published online, and archives will always be linked from our newsletter archive page for easy lookbacks to past news, research tips, and announcements.
Your comments and questions are welcome! Please send them to the editor, Carol Hassler.
We’re excited to invite you to the Lavinia Goodell State Law Library’s open house in April. Save the date, and mark your calendar now for Thursday, April 23rd from 11:30-1:30. Watch our April newsletter for more details!
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by Amy Crowder
Connecting people with the legal information and resources they need – that is our priority. The work of the Wisconsin State Law Library ensures that attorneys, government officials, legal researchers, and residents statewide have reliable access to the legal and court‑system information necessary to make informed decisions and work effectively, regardless of their location. Learn how we’ve achieved this in our newly published 2025 annual report.
The library's series of free, live CLE webinars continue to reach attorneys, paralegals, librarians and legal researchers throughout Wisconsin. In 2025, we welcomed more than 250 participants to our monthly online classes. We are proud to help further continuing legal education while also saving costs for licensed attorneys. This past year we provided approximately $13,000 worth of CLE credits!
Self-represented litigants frequently come to us seeking help with modifying family court orders or requesting information about the eviction process. For this reason, family law and landlord‑tenant law remained the most common topics among the 13,350 reference questions our staff answered in 2025. Each question is unique, and our reference team carefully consults statutes, regulations, case law, and authoritative legal practice materials to provide individuals with the information and resources they need.
 Percentage of reference questions answered by topic
Our branch libraries in Milwaukee and Dane County partner with courthouse legal assistance clinics and a self-help center to provide self-represented litigants with procedural information and court forms. Together with on-line forms sales provided through the Lavinia Goodell State Law Library, our three libraries provided 10,192 court related forms. If a standard form is not available, reference staff search print and legal database sources to locate sample forms that can be used as a template.
The library added a new microfiche scanner that can automatically scan Wisconsin drafting files—an invaluable resource for anyone conducting legislative research. Drafting files help researchers trace the history of legislation and uncover insights into legislative intent. Our microfiche collection spans the years 1927 through the end of the 1997 legislative session and often contains hundreds of pages, including bill drafts, handwritten notes, memos, and analyses. With the new scanner, an entire microfiche—more than 200 pages—can be scanned and saved in under 10 minutes. This greatly increases efficiency for users who need quick access to drafting files, Wisconsin appellate briefs, and other microfiche materials.
Legal books get updated constantly. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes at our libraries to keep our collection current and ready for checkout. There were 2,400 distinct titles (and even more books) updated at our libraries this year – from adding brand new books to inserting supplements and filed pages into popular series. We also order and update materials for appellate court collections, Dane and Milwaukee county judicial collections, and the Dane County Sheriff’s Office jail collection. Library staff ensure that both print and eBooks are easy to find in the library catalog, and quick to check out at one of our friendly service desks, or use online.
I invite you to read our 2025 Annual Report for more information about the Wisconsin State Law Library’s work.
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by Noelle Brasch
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New Book! Wisconsin Personal Injury, by Megan McDermott
Call number: KFW 2597 .P3 W57 2026
This 2026 edition of Personal Injury is a comprehensive explanation of tort law in Wisconsin. Offering guidance on how to approach these types of cases, McDermott breaks down the complexities of the personal injury litigation process.
Topics include:
- Medical malpractice
- Governmental liability
- Products liability
- Defenses in negligence cases
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New Book! Legal citation in a nutshell, by Larry L. Teply
Call number: KF 245 .T47 2026
Learning legal citations is an important but sometimes difficult process. This book in the Nutshell series attempts to illuminate the underlying principles and specific rules. From The Bluebook to statutes to digital sources, use this new edition to help better understand all the forms and systems of legal citation.
Topics include:
- Case citation conventions
- Citing reporters
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The Bluebook and ALWD Citation Guide forms for citations
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Check out our monthly list of new and updated books to find more materials to add to your to-be-read list!
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by Heidi Yelk
Making smart phones easier
Many of us like having a smart phone but can also become frustrated or overwhelmed with too many features and settings. Did you know that most phones offer alternative modes which may improve the user experience? These modes are generally marketed to older users or people with memory or cognitive challenges, but they are helpful to a wide variety of users.
For iPhone users, see this Assistive Access User Guide for iPhone iOS versions 17, 18 or 26. Users can easily change app layouts, make icons bigger, or customize the camera and messages app. One nice feature is "tap to hear" a text message.
For Samsung users, turning on "Easy Mode" will make visual changes to the screen and communication apps, making it easier to find contacts and see the keyboard. Read more about Easy Mode changes in this piece from Tech Radar.
Perhaps you are ready to give up your smart phone altogether? CNET and PCMag both have recent articles about making the switch and make recommendations for dumb phones.
by Carol Hassler
Spring webinars from your library
Sign up for our spring webinars! Classes are free, and qualify for CLE credit. Please reach out to Michael Keane with questions about the class and Jaden Henneman with questions about registering.
Federal Legislative History - Some Methods in Researching Acts of Congress
Wednesday, March 18, Noon - 1:00 PM
1 CLE credit
Register for Federal legislative history
Introduction to Wisconsin Legislative History
Wednesday, April 22, Noon - 1:00 PM
1 CLE credit
Register for Introduction to Wisconsin legislative history
Wisconsin Legislative History - Budget Bill Calamities
Wednesday, May 20, Noon - 1:00 PM
1 CLE credit
Register for Budget bill calamities
Stress and anxiety management webinar
The Office of Lawyer Regulation presents Strategies for Managing the Mania, presented by attorney Joe Bugni. This session will discuss strategies in managing stress/anxiety in busy legal environments. 1 CLE credit is pending. Register online to join this March lunch and learn event.
Third Branch newsletter released
Catch up on news from the Wisconsin Court System. February’s issue of the Third Branch, the Court System’s newsletter, includes memorials, oral argument updates, and upcoming trainings and events.
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Mercantile Library, Cincinnati OH
Photo by Desiree Bongers
 The Mercantile Library, founded in 1835 by a group of merchants and clerks before the creation of public libraries, has been a place where generations have gathered to read, debate, and think. Now located on the 11th floor of the historic Mercantile Library Building, its rooms are filled with a remarkable collection of art, including the classic statue featured here, a woman with her index finger to her lips. This statue has become one of the library’s most recognizable reminders of the library’s founding principle: “Silence.” The statute was acquired in 1856 and has become an iconic symbol of the library and a permanent fixture in the lobby ever since. “Silence” stands at over 8 feet tall looking over a space that has welcomed figures from all walks of life including contemporary authors and artists. The Mercantile has always been a safe haven for readers and their enduring love of ideas, free thoughts, and spirited conversations, and the library itself stands as a place of stillness and reflection, reiterated by the quiet presence of “Silence.”
Read more.... Magical Realism | July 21, 2018 | The Mercantile Library
Text by Jennifer Osterlund, Intern, Madison College Paralegal Program
We are accepting snapshots! Do you have a photo highlighting libraries, attractions or points of historical interest? Send your photo to the editor at carol.hassler@wicourts.gov to be included in a future issue.
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