Legal Reference Books

During my recent tour of the Worcester Law Library I was introduced to a legal publication house in Massachusetts called Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. The head librarian at the law library suggested that I consider their publications for a number of reasons. In any event, I went to their homepage http://www.mcle.org and took a look at their offerings.

Two of the most frequently used texts at our library concern divorce law and landlord and tenant law. One of the books that I ordered from MCLE was the Massachusetts Family Law Sourcebook & Citator, 2009. The cost was $125.

The text comes with a CD ROM, subject index, and a table of contents. The table of contents, which is also a subject guide, notes, in addition, the appropriate chapter of the Massachusetts laws, regs, or US Code. While I can't list them all here it should be noted that the text covers all aspects of family law. Some of the more popular subjects include adoption, child support, marriage, divorce, child custody, abuse, desertion, guardian, and the protection and care of children.

The text not only covers Massachusetts law and regulations it also covers federal laws, internal revenue codes, court rules, and case digests. At the back of the text the publishers have inserted the current financial Child Support Guidelines (another frequently asked question). A second insert, at the front of the text, is a list of family and probate courts and the current fees for every kind of petition and application.

MCLE has managed to compile a whole library in one source. Patrons and staff will find this an easy and straightforward resource and I would recommend this text for all public libraries.