The Political Economy of Legal Information : The New Landscape

Over the past few years, there have been great changes in the legal publishing industry and in the manner in which legal information is produced, stored, disseminated, and used. A new landscape of legal information has emerged along with the convergence of two factors. The first is the tendency towards a concentration in the legal publishing industry, and the second is an information environment increasingly characterized by electronic forms of publishing and communication. The Political Economy of Legal Information: The New Landscape examines the relationship between these factors and considers how librarians and other information professionals can best comprehend, cope with, and even try to influence the factors which comprise the new legal information landscape.

From the informative information contained in The Political Economy of Legal Information: The New Landscape, you will discover how you, as a librarian or other information professional, can comprehend, cope with, and even try to influence the factors which comprise the new legal information landscape. You will discover the great changes in the legal publishing industry that have occurred within the last few years and the new ways in which legal information is produced, stored, disseminated, and used. The Political Economy of Legal Information will provide you with valuable tips to help you make sense of this new landscape so your library can reap the benefits of this new age.

This informative book provides you with a collection of essays that describe, asses, and evaluate the political economy of information in the changing realm of legal publishing to keep you and your library on top of this dynamic situation. Through The Political Economy of Legal Information, you will find valuable insight into how you can make adjustments to constant technological changes by:

• confronting the cost efficiency model which promises both lower prices and greater effectiveness to help you make informed decisions about your library''s technology
• learning about the economic logic of copyright laws to safeguard your library''s reliance on big-name databases
• exploring the new Legal Publishers’List that provides a roadmap to the mergers and acquisitions that have characterized the publishing industry in recent years in order to choose the best manufacturer of the legal products in your library
• exploring case studies to help you understand how educational institutions, governmental entities, and small publishers can successfully cope with the new information landscape and to keep you informed of all the options available to your library
  
  Written by a wide cross section of people who are working with legal information,The Political Economy of Legal Information provides essential information to assist you and your library in staying informed regarding the fast-paced world of legal publishing.