Update on the Baby Bluebook, by Barco 2.0 : Law Library Reference, University of Pittsburg School of Law (with hat tip to William P. Statsky!)
Carl Malamud has introduced the Harvard Law Review Association to The Indigo Book, An Open and Compatible Implementation of A Uniform System of Citation.
For years, I have used The Bluebook as my bible for legal citation. During the years I taught Bluebook citations, I saw The Bluebook come out with new editions many, many times. It was frustrating when the new edition changed the rule about whether you used a comma after a signal or some other arbitrary change. Not only frustrating, but hard to explain the reason for the revision to students.
There have been several major events that gave The Bluebook a genuine reasons to come out with a new edition. States, like Oklahoma, adopted a “public domain” citations. The Internet became a legal research tool. Still, there were times it seemed that The Bluebook’s interpretation was unnecessarily complicated.
The ALWD Citation Manual was created to improve legal citation standards. It was also updated periodically when needed. Until now, The Bluebook and the ALWD Citation Manual were the mainstream acceptable go to” sources for legal citation.
The Bluebook began receiving more criticism for its new editions. Were the changes necessary or a way to create more revenue for the publishers? Hard to say for many but not for Carl Malamud. It will be interesting to see how The Indigo Book is received by legal educators and legal professionals. -CCE
