Law Libraries

July 27, 2026

CBO: S3733, A Bill to Authorize Certain Public Libraries to Collect and Retain a Fee for the execution of a Passport Application

From the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

S. 3733, a bill to amend the Passport Act of June 4, 1920, to authorize certain public libraries to collect and retain a fee for the execution of a passport application as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on June 17, 2026. This bill would authorize the Department of State to restore the ability of nongovernmental public libraries to accept passport applications. The bill also would require the department to report to the Congress within 30 days of enactment on whether it has done so.

COST ESTIMATE,

July 16, 2026

Washington and Lee 2025 Law Journal Rankings

by David Badertscher

FROM THE LAW LIBRARY AT THE WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW:

The 2025 W&L Law Journal Rankings are now available!

Released on July 15, 2026, the 2025 Rankings provide citation data and calculated ranks for the top 400 U.S.-published law journals and the top 100 law journals published outside the United States. Journals ranked below these thresholds display “NR” (Not Ranked) for each data category and are listed alphabetically. The survey span of the 2025 ranking is five years (2021-2025). For more information about the new and previous rankings, please see our Methodology page.

July 6, 2026

Understanding World Models: An Emerging Direction in Artificial Intelligence and Its Potential Significance for Legal Research

by David Badertscher

David G. Badertscher

“Every generation of legal researchers inherits new tools. Their enduring responsibility is to learn how to use them wisely.”

Introduction