Roam the Virtual Legal Library: A Guide to Online Legal Resource Research

Author: Liu Lijun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: This book is the result of the 2002 Tsinghua University School of Law Summer Project, funded by the Starr Foundation, and is currently the authoritative bilingual reference guide in China on the acquisition and utilization of legal electronic information resources. All URLs in the book are based on the search status as of October 2003. The book adopts a bilingual Chinese-English format and will be edited and published by the Legal Application Publishing Center of the Legal Press in December 2003. It is well-known that network information and its search methods provide users with great convenience in obtaining accurate, timely, and effective information, while also presenting a challenge: how to master and utilize the diversity and flexibility of network information retrieval to achieve one's goals, which is a requirement for all users. Some universities in China have long offered "Information Retrieval Courses," and in recent years, they have added content on network information retrieval. This training is very helpful for students to understand the characteristics of various types of literature and to learn manual and computer-based retrieval methods. Network information retrieval requires not only an understanding of the characteristics of network information resources but also the mastery of certain methods and techniques, as well as specialized training and guidance from experts with retrieval experience, in order to fully utilize the advantages of computer retrieval to achieve one's goals. It is believed that legal researchers, while enjoying the fruits of modern electronic information communication, have already recognized the crucial role of legal information in legal research. The purpose of this book is to provide the Chinese legal community with a comprehensive introduction to the system of legal literature information resources, strategies for acquiring legal information, particularly electronic legal resources, including Chinese law, foreign law, and international law. The book analyzes and evaluates the content, characteristics, and acquisition methods of various resources, and discusses the role of computer network technology in standardizing and globalizing Chinese legal information. The book also proposes ideas, suggestions, and strategies for the future development of the Chinese legal information system. It is hoped that this book will provide authoritative and valuable insights into the basic knowledge of legal literature information systems, as well as the current status of Chinese, foreign, and international legal resources. It is also hoped that the non-electronic bibliographies of Chinese, foreign, and international law, as well as the URLs of electronic resources, appended to this book will provide readers with detailed legal literature and assist in their internet searches. This book will be regularly updated based on this work, continuously adding new content and resources, making it truly a reference book for legal learning, research, and practice. The book is rich in content and information, with all introductions being on new resources; the authors all possess extensive experience and expertise in legal research, making the book highly authoritative and instructive; the search strategies and examples are a highlight of the book, making it more targeted and practical; the explanations of format, indexes, and references provided are helpful for readers to further their learning and research, giving the book a tool-like character. The authors of this book come from the School of Law at New York University, the Fredric.G.Levin School of Law at the University of Florida, the Law School at the University of Melbourne in Australia, the School of Law at Tsinghua University, as well as Western Group and LexisNexis in the United States. The book analyzes and evaluates the content, characteristics, and acquisition methods of various resources, and discusses the role of computer network technology in standardizing and globalizing Chinese legal information.