What impact did the printing press – a new means of communicating the written word – have on early modern English lawyers? This book examines the way in which law printing developed in the period from 1475 up until 1642 and the start of the English Civil War. It offers a new perspective on the purposes and structures of the regulation of the printing press and considers how and why lawyers used the new technology. It examines the way in which lawyers adapted to the use of printed works and the way in which the new technology increased the availability of texts and books for lawyers and the administrative community. It also considers the wider humanist context within which law printing developed. The story is set against the backdrop of revolutionary changes in English society and the move not only to print the law, but also increase its accessibility by making information available in English. The book will be of interest to lawyers and legal historians, print and book historians and the general reader.

Law librarians in any setting will find The Legal Bibliography useful in developing, purchasing, and using bibliographies in the future. Practicing law librarians and bibliographers share their views on the evolving state of the legal bibliography. The rapidly changing world of librarianship presents the information specialist with new methods of accessing bibliographic information. These changes also have implications for the future of the printed bibliography. Some librarians have abandoned--or do not even know of--titles that were once familiar to every member of a reference staff in favor of databases and CD-ROM products. Yet printed bibliographies, some of questionable value, continue to be published and compete for a place on the acquisitions list of many libraries. The law librarian is affected by this change as much, if not more, than other members of the profession. A researcher seeking legal information is usually concerned with the very latest references, bringing into question the adequacy of traditional printed compilations, or compilations produced simply by conducting a database search. Concentrating on their own areas of expertise, the contributors describe their use or creation of legal bibliographies and consider the ways in which technology might be changing their work. Some of the contributors emphasize classic bibliographies of the past, while others look at how the legal bibliography is used by the legal information specialist today and how the changing nature of access to bibliographic information affects their work. Still others speak to the future in discussing projected publications or ideas for alternative methods of creating and distributing bibliographies. The chapters describing some of the major bibliographies of the past will also be valuable. Several of the chapters will be helpful to authors of bibliographies--both legal and non-legal--who should be considering the methods used to produce and distribute their product. This volume will also be essential to those interested in the topic of bibliography for purposes of comparison with other areas of specialization. Ideal for law librarians, library school collections, and anyone interested in the topic of bibliography in general.