Legal Collections and Libraries

Part of the Alberta Court Services is access to the Alberta Law Libraries. The primary mission of Alberta Law Libraries is to facilitate access to legal information for the Alberta community, including its judiciary, lawyers, citizens, libraries and government agencies. Alberta Law Libraries (ALL) were formed in 2009 when Alberta Court Libraries and Alberta Law Society Libraries were amalgamated. ALL has served the legal community in Alberta since 1885 and use of our collections is free to all who visit our libraries.

The Audiovisual Library is a unique, multimedia resource that consists of three sections: a Historic Archives, a Lecture Series, and a Research Library.

The Canadian Library Search provides a centralized window to Canadian libraries of all types and sizes. Through this site you can find information on and link to:

• Canadian library catalogues and Websites
• directory of Canadian interlibrary loan and charging policies
• directory of special collections held in Canadian libraries
• other resources of interest

Through the Criminology Information Service (CIS), the Centre provides professional and innovative solutions to criminal justice communities worldwide. The CIS houses the leading Canadian research collection of criminological material, consisting of more than 25.000 books, journals, government reports, statistics and other documents, which can be accessed in person or electronically via the World Wide Web. The information covers a wide range of subject areas, including public and private policing; violence deviance and social control; young offenders; criminology, and criminal law.

The Environmental Law Centre (Alberta) Society (“ELC”) is a registered charitable organization incorporated in Alberta in 1982 to provide Albertans with an objective source of information about environmental and natural resources law. The ELC website includes fact sheets, downloadable publications and a frequently asked questions section. The ELC library is accessible to the public; the catalogue can be accessed on their website. As well, any person can contact the ELC and receive information on environmental law.

The Privy Council Office has created an online database that allows users to search for federal Orders in Council (OICs) made between 1990 and the present. Check it out here if you are looking for a Federal Order in Council.

This Glossary of Parliamentary Procedure is produced by Procedural Services of the House of Commons for the information of the general public.

The Homeless Hub is a web-based research library and information center where community services providers, researchers, government representatives, and the general public can access and share research, stories, and best practices associated with alleviating homelessness and housing instability.

This website provides free legal information in 65 languages for those whose first language is not English or French. For those users that prefer one-on-one conversations, a telephone information line provides pre-recorded answers available 24-hours a day for those who are illiterate, visually impaired, or simply prefer to ‘listen’ to the legal answers. Legaline also offers answers to over 1000 frequently asked questions on a wide variety of legal topics. You can filter by province or search Canada federal information.

This index provides bibliographic access to materials associated with more than 200 federal Royal Commissions that have taken place since Confederation. There are approximately 7000 items in the index that includes commission reports, briefs, submissions, evidence, working papers and other documents.

This online resource from Imagine Canada, provides recommended resource lists and a searchable database to the John Hodgson Library collection, the most comprehensive collection of Canadian research and practical resources in the following areas: Governance & Accountability, Philanthropy & Fundraising, Organizational Management, Human Resources and Volunteerism.

This Library is housed in the offices of the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) in Toronto. The website contains the catalogue of the collection database, including numerous topical research files. The collection reflects the multidisciplinary nature of many environmental issues with a focus on environmental law and policy and includes access to the publications of the former Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy.

The Library of the Supreme Court of Canada provides the research base for the Court in its role of deciding questions of national importance. It is a research library geared to meet the immediate information needs of the Court. The Library has an extensive collection of both primary and secondary materials from the major common and civil law jurisdictions: Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, France and Belgium; a large collection of legal periodicals, loose-leaf services and major legal texts.

The World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII) is a free, independent and non-profit global legal research facility developed collaboratively by Legal Information Institutes and other organisations. WorldLII comprises three main facilities: Databases, Catalog and Websearch. The Databases include case-law, legislation, treaties, law reform reports, law journals, and other materials (1165 databases from 123 jurisdictions via 14 Legal Information Institutes). The WorldLII Catalog provides links to over 15,000 law-related web sites in every country in the world. Websearch makes searchable the full text of as many of these sites as WorldLII’s web-spider can reach.