Welcome
This guide is designed to help you get started with your research. Find books, journal articles, and additional resources such as legal databases and the Uniform Guide to Legal Citation, available to you at SFU Library.
Contact info
If you need help, please contact Yolanda Koscielski, Liaison Librarian for Criminology, Psychology & Philosophy at or ysk6@sfu.ca or Ask a librarian
Accessing library materials
Much of our collection is now digital. Access hundreds of thousands of online journals, ebooks and databases via the SFU Library Catalogue.
As primarily distance students, note there are multiple ways to obtain your research materials:
Interlibrary Loans
Can't find what you need at the SFU Library? Request it from Interlibrary Loans. Articles and book chapters are delivered digitally and will arrive between 1 and 14 days, depending on the supplying library. Most article/chapter requests arrive within one week.
Telebook: Delivery of SFU library books and materials to your home
Applied Legal Studies (ALS) students are eligible for Telebook services.
Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement
Use library services (mainly print books) at a Canadian university in another city or province.
Accessing online resources from off campus
If you find articles via Google Scholar or publishers' sites, avoid the paywall by going through the library's website.
Featured resources
New! As of June 2024, The Canadian Open Access Legal (COAL) Citation Guide/Guide canadien de la référence juridique en accès libre (RJAL), is now available: https://canlii.ca/t/7nc6q. This citation guide is intended to be used throughout the legal field and incorporates feedback contributed by reviewers from Canadian courts, law firms, law journals, law societies, and law schools.
COAL-RJAL is freely available on CanLII, allowing anyone requiring a Canadian legal citation guide to access it online without financial barriers.
SFU Library has online access to the official Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 10th edition, (aka the "McGill Guide"). Access the Guide via Westlaw Next Canada.
Print copies are also available at SFU Library.
See Citing & Writing Legal Information Resources for more information on legal citation.
Databases
Specialized legal databases provide access to key primary and secondary legal sources. SFU Library subscribes to three core legal databases (HeinOnline, LexisAdvance Quicklaw, and Westlaw Next Canada).
Westlaw Next Canada
Canadian legislation, case law, and commentary. Contains the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest and the Canadian Abridgement Digest.
Lexis Advance Quicklaw Plus
Canadian legislation, case law, and commentary.
HeinOnline
Law and law-related research material, including legal journals, government documents, classic legal treatises, and world trials. Contains Canadian, American and international laws and agreements.
BC Laws
Provides free public access to the current laws of British Columbia. This current consolidation of BC Statutes and Regulations is updated continually as new and amended laws come into force.
CanLII: Canadian Legal Information Institute
Extensive open access to laws and legal decisions from all Canadian jurisdictions, including tribunal decisions.
See our full list of law-related databases at SFU Library.
Research assistance and guides
Ask a Librarian
For general library questions, and specific research questions, contact a librarian by chat, zoom, phone, in-person consultation, and email.
Liaison Librarians
For more personalised assistance, contact your liaison librarian for Applied Legal Studies (Criminology) directly.
Services for graduate students
Research Commons
The SFU Library Research Commons supports the research endeavours of the University community, with particular focus on graduate students.