Casebooks, Study Aids & Guides for Law School Courses & Bar Exams: Introduction

This LibGuide highlights current editions of BLS Library's casebooks, study aids & guides for law school courses & bar exams.  It describes sources on: Doing Well & Being Well   Preparing for Law School Exams & Bar Exams  Administrative Law  Civil Practice & Procedure  Conflict of Laws  Constitutional Law  Contracts  Corporations & Other Business Associations  Criminal Law & Procedure  Evidence  Family Law  Professional Responsibility  Property  Sales  Secured Transactions  Torts  Wills, Trusts & Estates.  Sources are categorized by type and are listed "newest to oldest."  Current editions of print casebooks adopted by BLS faculty & many print study aids are in BLS Library's first-floor "Reserve" collection.  Students can request these sources at BLS Library's first-floor circulation desk.  These sources circulate for two hours.  

BLS students can access/search a digital collection of many study aids in Aspen Learning Library.  In BLS Library's SARA catalog record, click: ACCESS ONLINE VERSION - (ASPEN).  Aspen Learning Library includes titles in these series: Emanuel Law Outlines/Emanuel CrunchTime; Examples & Explanations; Friedman's Practice; Glannon Guides; Inside Series; & In Other Words Audio & Video Series.  (Publication dates vary.)   

Tip: Currently, remote access to Aspen Learning Library requires implementation of the BLS proxy server instructions for one web browser.  Librarians recommend implementing the BLS proxy instructions for Firefox.  Later in summer 2025, BLS Library will adopt OpenAthens.  This will simplify remote access to BLS Library's digital resources.

• Q: Need initial help implementing the BLS proxy instructions? 
• A: Email: library.lab@brooklaw.edu 
  • BLS Library staff might need to ask the BLS IT Department to address some remote access issues.

Tips from Aspen: 

• Are you unable to access the full text of a study aid through the "Read Online" link in Aspen Learning Library?  Try clearing your web browser's cache.  At the bottom of this guide box are instructions to clear your Firefox browser cache.
• Do you want to implement the BLS proxy instructions for Safari?  Before using the reader view, please turn off the "Prevent cross-site tracking" setting in your browser.  See: Safari > Settings > Privacy tab > Website tracking > Disable the "Prevent cross-site tracking" option. 
• Do you want to read an Aspen study guide offline, to add notes/highlights to a study guide, and/or to print a limited number of pages from a study guide?  Register to create a personal account on Aspen Learning Library's home page and download Aspen's app.  See instructions at: Getting Started with the Aspen Learning Library.  A student who merely wishes to read a study guide can click Aspen's "Read Online" option in the browser desktop version.  Aspen states: "offline reading is not available in the browser desktop version, get the app for offline reading!"

Click the link below to view Aspen's descriptions of these series and a study guide series comparison chart.    

Tip: BLS Library generally provides (on Reserve) 1 copy of adopted course texts.  During the fall/spring semesters, employees staff BLS Library’s circulation desk beginning at 8 am on M-F.  The availability of adopted course texts is often good on early weekday mornings.  Also, the BLS student chapter of the National Lawyers Guild organizes a textbook exchange, and BLS students can contact this chapter at nlg@brooklaw.edu

BLS Library determines course adoptions using faculty submissions to Akademos. 

If your textbook publisher is Aspen Publishing:

Brooklyn Law School opted in to Aspen Publishing's Early eBook Access Program. This program provides BLS students free, temporary access to current editions of adopted Aspen Publishing ebooks one week before Summer Session classes start on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 and for the first two weeks of class through the BLS-specific purchase portal.  It is designed to help with any inventory, shipping, financial aid, or drop/add period issues.  Tip: To view adopted Aspen Publishing ebooks through this portal, BLS students need to register with a BLS email address and to select "Brooklyn Law School" as their school. 

Aspen Publishing also created its BLS-specific purchase portal so that BLS students can obtain a 20% discount on their orders of educator-selected Aspen course texts and free shipping.  (No coupon code needed.)  Note: This portal only facilitates purchase of current editions of Aspen course texts.  BLS students can purchase their course materials by searching a course number or a professor’s name, clicking on the “View Course Titles” button, and adding the corresponding products to their cart. 

If students experience any issues, Aspen Publishing.com provides both “Visit Our Help Center” and “Contact Us” links (near bottom of web page).

If your textbook publisher is West Academic or Foundation Press:

Brooklyn Law School opted in to West Academic’s Early eBook Access Program. This program provides BLS students free, temporary access to adopted West Academic and Foundation Press ebooks (all formats) from May 20, 2025 - June 3, 2025.  It is designed to help with any inventory, shipping, financial aid, or drop/add period issues.  Also, West Academic provides a "discount window" (May 20, 2025 - July 30, 2025) for BLS law students to purchase discounted West Academic or Foundation press textbooks adopted by BLS faculty during Summer Session 2025 through eproducts.westacademic.com.  

BLS students can create an account or sign in with their school email address at eproducts.westacademic.com.  Students who experience any issues or have specific questions can contact accountmanager@westacademic.com.  

BLS students also can refer to the West Academic Early eBook Access Student Flyer/Instructions linked below.