A number of times on this blog I have made two points about HeinOnline. First, it’s an outstanding resource and law students must be familiar with it. And second, law students don’t use its search function as often as they should. I stand by both points, but Hein is making strides to remedy the latter. The newest step in this process comes with the release of a new search box on the Law Journal Landing Page that puts “search” on users minds from the get go. In the past users may have overlooked the search tab, but now it won’t be forgotten.
While searching HeinOnline can take time to get used to (here are some tips), it enhances the value of the resource. I use HeinOnline’s search function quite frequently and find it an invaluable part of my research. Things have only gotten better since Hein added its faceted searching. Hein has also recently addressed one of my biggest frustrations by adding a “View All Matching Text Pages” function (currently in beta). This allows the user to see the search terms found in each result with one click, instead of having to click the “View Matching Text Pages” for each result. Very helpful. I appreciate that Hein listens to its users and makes valuable changes that help all researchers.