Law Links - November 2015

Law Librarians join forces to create free database, archiving New York’s regulatory history

Dave Voisinet (retired former director of the Appellate Division Fourth Department Law Library in Rochester), Beth Adelman (Director, Charles B. Sears Law Library, University at Buffalo), Jeannine Lee (retired former director of the New York State Supreme Court Library in Buffalo), Andrew Kloc (Senior Law Librarian, Appellate Division Fourth Department Law Library in Rochester).

Dave Voisinet (retired former director of the Appellate Division Fourth Department Law Library in Rochester), Beth Adelman (Director, Charles B. Sears Law Library, University at Buffalo), Jeannine Lee (retired former director of the New York State Supreme Court Library in Buffalo), Andrew Kloc (Senior Law Librarian, Appellate Division Fourth Department Law Library in Rochester)

The School of Law’s Charles B. Sears Law Library, the Appellate Division Fourth Department Law Library in Rochester, and the New York State Supreme Court Library in Buffalo, are pleased to announce the availability of the NYCRR Digital Archive.

This open access database contains replaced pages (or "takeouts") of the New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations of the State of New York for the years 1945 through 2001. The dates covered in this database represent the online debut of New York’s regulatory history material covering this time period.  This free resource will allow researchers, librarians, and practitioners to more easily determine previous versions of New York’s codes, rules, and regulations, a task performed in print that is currently quite difficult and time-consuming.

Beginning in late 2012, approximately one million pages have been electronically scanned and converted to searchable PDFs.  Portions of the scanned pages contain New York State’s copyrighted material and are included with the permission of the Secretary of State. As a service to the New York legal community and the legal community at large, this project was collaboratively funded and staffed by all three institutions.

In plain English, the database allows people to search for the history of a New York state regulation going back to 1945. Here are few fun facts one can find in the database:

  • New York’s first embalming procedures went into effect in 1971.
  • The sale of dogs and cats has only been regulated by New York since 1989. (1 NYCRR sec. 81.1 et seq)
  • The general rules for speed limits in New York, as well as specific speed limits for the City of Buffalo and other municipalities, can be found in the current set. One can research how speed limits have changed over time in your own municipality. (15 NYCRR 1000 et seq.)
  • State employees may be eligible for moving expenses if the employee is transferred or reassigned for the convenience of the State. (9 NYCRR 138.1)