Professor Dr. John Prebble and Julia Caldwell of Victoria University Wellington Faculty of Law have published Zotero – A Manual for Electronic Legal Referencing (2012) (Victoria University Wellington Legal Research Paper no. 18/2012). Here is the abstract:
This manual explains how to operate Zotero.
Zotero is a free, open-source referencing tool that operates by “enter once, use many”. It captures references by one-click acquisition from databases of legal materials that cooperate with it. Users enter other references manually, with similar effort to typing a footnote.
Zotero’s chief strength is multi-style flexibility. Authors build libraries of references that are pasted into scholarly work with one click; authors can choose between legal referencing styles, with Zotero automatically formatting references according to the chosen style. Ability to format seamlessly across a potentially unlimited number of styles distinguishes Zotero from competing referencing tools. Zotero afficionados regularly add more styles.
The present manual is thought to be the only full manual for non-technical users of Zotero. It employs the New Zealand referencing style for examples, but its principles are the same for all styles.
The manual is licensed under a Modified Creative Commons Copyright Licence.
For more information on Zotero for law, please see Frank Bennett‘s Citation Stylist site, and his VoxPopuLII post: CSL, Metadata, and Legal Information that Just Works.
HT @freemoth.
Tags: Citation of legal authorities, Frank Bennett, John Prebble, Julia Caldwell, Legal citations, Zotero, Zotero for law
