Researching legai informatics literature

• Autore: Mark Pinson
• Pagine: 257-275

Page 257

Preface

This is a brief sketch of research tools identified and methods developed in the course of some 3 years' work on a ´knowledge baseª project at the Harvard Law School. Mare Lauritsen, who direets the project, designates the subject matter of the knowledge base ´legai informaticsª, a term not in wide use here, although it is current in several European countries [cf. Ger. - Rechtsinformatik, Rus. - pravovaia kibernetika, Fr. - informatique juridique etc.]. As used here, the term encompasses ali the areas in which computers have impacted on law - expert System in legai practice, computer assisted instruetion in legai education etc. The categories the knowledge base has sought to cover include: books, articles, conferences, research in progress, courses offered, people, and ´entitiesª (institutes, associations etc). No attempt however was made to create a list of the numerous software packages which deal with the more routine aspect of legai office practice.

It has then been in the application of reference skills and tools from several disciplines, with an international perspective, to the selected categories of the knowledge base that the sources and proceedures described here have been used, admittedly with varying degrees of success. As the field of legai informatics comes into its own, newer and more specific reference works will probably be created, reducing the need for turning to generai ones to winnow the relatively small sections they have now relevant to legai informatics. Some of the sources described in the body of the work and the suggestions in the Conclusion may be helpful in identifying these.

It remains only to acknowledge the ever ready assistance of the reference and interlibrary loan librarians of the libraries of the Harvard Law School which contribute so much to the work of the project.Page 258

@1. Locating books

To locate books on the subject there are various generai and specialized works which should be consulted. Most people are familiar with:

title: Books in print

pub. info: 1948 - New York, R.R. Bowker Co. issn: 0068-0214

But one should also be aware of several related publications:

title: Forthcoming books

pub. info: v. 1 - Jan. 1966 - [New York, R.R. Bowker Co.] [Supersedes: Interini index to forthcoming books. Absorbed: Subject guide to forthcoming books, issn 0000-0264] issn: 0000-0159

These publications deal only with American books. For England, France, Germany and Italy one consults the following equivalent publications:

title: Whitaker's books in-print

pub. info: 1988 - London: J. Whitaker & Sons, Lt., e. 1988-

linking notes: Continues: British books in print, issn 0068-1350

issn: 0953-0398

title: Les Livres disponibles, Frencb books in print pub. info: 1977 - [Paris] Cercle de la Librairie

linking notes: Formed by the union of: Repertoire des livres de langue francaise disponibles, issn 0080-1003 and Catalogue de l'edition francaise, issn 0069-1089

title: Verzeichnis lieferbarer Biicher

pub. info: 1971-72 - Frankfurt am Main: Verlag der Buchhandler-Ver-einigung; Munchen-Pullach: Vertrieb und Auslieferung, Verlag Dokumentation Saur KG, cl971-issn: 0067-8999

AUTHOR: Associazione italiana editori

title: Catalogo dei libri in commercio.: soggetti (subjects) title: Catalogo dei libri in commercio: titoli (titles) pub. info: 1976 - [Milano, Editrice bibliografica; Ann Arbour, Mich., distributed by R.R. Bowker] issn:

When using these one should be aware of the structural peculiarities. The American pattern - 3 separate sets, Authors, Titles and Subjects - is followed only by the Italians. The British and German works are simply in One alpha sort of authors and titles. To use the French set, one must first locate the code number for one's subject in the index provided and then locate the section on that code number in the Subject volumes. In ali cases, it is worthwhile to look in the Titles section under certain key first wordsPage 259 such as computer, and data. Some of these works have also supplements which appear during the year.

One should also be aware that similar tools exist for other countries. For Canada, for example, there are two:

title: Canadian books in print. Author and title index

pub. info: 1975 - Toronto, University of Toronto Press.

linking notes: Continues: Canadian books in print., issn 0068-8398

issn: 0702-0201

title: Les Livres disponibles canadiens de langue francaise

[[microfiche]] = Canadian French books in print edition: Ed. microfiche

pub. info: Sept. 1987 - [Outremont, Quebec]: Bibliodata, 1987 -DESCRiPTiON: microfiche: negative.

linking notes: Continues: Liste des livres disponibles de langue francaise des auteurs et des editeurs canadiens.

For another multilingual country, cf.:

title: South Africane books in print = Suid-Afrikaanse boeke tans in druck pub. info: 1984. [Cape Town]: Data Page Publishing, [C 1984] linking notes: Continues: Books in print South Africa

One should be aware that many books, especially on technical subjects, are published in English initially in non-English speaking countries and so are not included in Books in Print. One way to check for such publications is to consult:

title: International books in print pub. info: Munchen; New York: K.G. Saur; Detroit: Distributed by Gale

Research Co. issn: 0170-9348

Finally there is a survey exclusively of the legai field:

title: Bowker's lato books and serials in print

pub. info: 1984-1985 - New York, N.Y.: Bowker, c1984 frequency: Annual

linking notes: Updated by. Bowker's law books and serials in print update.

notes: Vols. for 1984/1985 - issued in three volumes.

issn: 0000-0752

To overcome the limitations of paper subject indexes one can use several machine-readable forms. Books in Print, for example, is accessible both as an ordine data base and in CD-ROM. (Procedures for locating data base producers will be explained in the section on data bases below). Whitaker's and the French National Bibliography are available in CD-ROM (the latter is quite new: Bibliogmphie Nationale Francaise depuis 1975 [to March 1989] published by Chadwick-Healey France).Page 260

@2. Locating serials

The major generai guides to serials, ali of which have subject indexes, are:

1. title: Ulrich's internationalperiodicals directory. pub. info: New York, Bowker

   IINKING notes: Also available online through dialog (File no. 480), brs (ulri), and the European Space Agency (File no. 103/ulrich's periodicals); and on cd-rom from R.R. Bowker (Ulrich's plus) issn: 0000-0175

   See also this update:

   title: The Bowker intemational seriali database update pub. info: Voi. 1, no. 1 (Dee. 1985) - v. 3, no. 3 (June 1988). Continued by:

   Ulrich's update, issn 0000-1074

   issn: 0000-0892 = The Bowker intemational serials database update. New York: R.R. Bowker, [cl985-cl988]

2. title: The serials directory: an intemational reference hook pub. info: 1986 - Birmingham, Ala.: ebsco, c1986

   issn: 0886-4179

3. title: The Standard periodical directory

   pub. info: 1 - ed., 1964-65 - New York, Oxbridge Pub. Co. issn: 0085-6630

   For miscellaneous other publications see:

   title: Gale directory of publications and broadcast media pub. INFO: Detroit: Gale, ISBN: 0-8103-4858-0; issn 0892-1636 linking notes: Continues: Gale directory of publications (´An annual guide to newspapers, magazines, journals and related publicationsª. issn: 0892-1636)

   Ali of these, as American publications, are strongest in their coverage of the English speaking countries. Locating striali serials in other countries, at times, requires going to their equivalent publications, e.g. for Italy there is:

   Maini, Roberto (ed.), Catalogo dei periodici italiani, Editrice Bibliografica, Milan, 1988, (isbn 88-7075-164-3)

   Unfortunately, some countries, such as France, have not such publication. For tracking clown small European serials, the microfiche version of the

   TITLE: Zeitschriften-Ttatenbank: ZDB

   pub. info: Wiesbaden, Verlag Otto Harrassowitz

   frequency: Semiannual

   NOTES: Began in 1979. Cf. Deutsche Bib. Issued by: Deutsches

   Bibliotheksinstitut

   issn: 0171-8932

   authors: Deutsches Bibliotheksinstitut

   (periodicals database), which is a union listing of serials held by libraries in 260

   W. Germany, containing somewhat over 500,000 titles, has been quite useful. (Presumably German unification will be reflected in this listing also).

   One way to identify rapidly journals dealing with computers and law is to look at the lists of journals surveyed by journals which publish periodically bibliographic surveys of the field e.g., the Italian Informatica e diritto or the American Law Office Information Systems. Experience indicates that the researcher should be aware that these lists include the journals in which articles on legai informatics were found in the time period surveyed and in many cases the journal listed publishes only an occasionai article on the subject.

   @3. Locating articles

   The basic tool is the index to periodical literature, somewhat like the best known of which is the old, very generai:

   title: Readers' guide to periodical literature pub. info: v. 1 - Feb. 1901 - New York [etc] H.W. Wilson Co.

   (Semimonthly) issn: 0034-1464

   For legai literature there are several specialized indexes one can consult:

1. title: Current law index.

   pub. info: v. 1 - Jan. 1980 - [Los Altos, Calif.] Information Access Corp. frequency: Monthly, with quarterly and annual cumulations notes: ´Multiple access to legai periodicalsª.

   ´Published by Information Access Corporation in cooperation with the American Association of Law Librariesª. issn: 0196-1780

   (This paper index appears also as Legai Resources Index in microfilm and as a data base available through dialog)

   Index to legai periodicals

   Jan. 1908 - [New York, etc] H.W. Wilson Co.

   0019-4077

   Index to foreign legai periodicals

   Vol. 1, no. 1 (Feb. 1960) - London: Institute of Advanced Legai

   Studies; Chicago: American Association of Law Libraries, cl960

   0019-400X

   Current publications in legai and related fields

   Voi. 1, no. 1...