Warning, 2L and 3L students! If you purchased a copy of the 16th edition of The Bluebook last year or the year before, it is now out-of-date. Do yourselves a service and purchase a copy of the 17th edition. The Bluebook is compiled by the editors of the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and The Yale Law Journal. It is the standard work for use in legal citation in writing done both by scholars and practitioners.

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 17th edition, reflects the growing number of sources for authority as well as the requirement in some jurisdictions for public domain citation (also known as medium neutral citation). If one is a new user of The Bluebook it is imperative that one read section I entitled "Introduction to Legal Citation and the Bluebook." New in this section this year is the use of dots inserted in the helpful examples of various citations to indicate one space between the components of each citation format. In previous editions, one had to attempt to count spaces from blank space. This use of dots is very useful. If one has used earlier editions of The Bluebook (this user, remembers the 11th edition which was White rather than Blue), one must read the "Preface to the Seventeenth Edition". This is a listing of the most noteworthy changes in the new edition.

As noted above this reviewer is a long time user of this citation manual. I will note those changes which seem most substantive in my opinion after years of Bluebook usage. Rule 1.2 returns to the pre-16th edition use of the signals "E.g." and "Contra." Rule 10.2.2 governs abbreviations of case names in citations. Table T.6 is to be used in determining words is case names which may be abbreviated and the number of words that may be abbreviated has been expanded. Rule 10.3.1(b) recognizes the growing importance of public domain citation. The rule indicates that if a jurisdiction has mandated medium neutral citation this citation must be used, however a parallel citation to the relevant regional reporter must also be provided, if available. The rule goes on to allow for the citation to another unofficial reporter, a widely used computer database, and internet source or a newspaper, in that order in rare instances where an official, preferred unofficial or public domain citation is unavailable. Table T.1 has been updated to include information on state judicial websites and state specific public domain formats; also included are jurisdictional requirements for use of medium neutral citation if it exists.

The most sweeping change in this new edition of The Bluebook is the addition of an entire new rule covering citation to "Electronic Media and Other Non-print Resources." The sources covered are widely used commercial electronic databases (rule 18.1); the internet (rule 18.2); CD-ROM (rule 18.3); microform (rule 18.4); film, broadcasts, and noncommercial videotapes (rule 18.5) and audio recordings (rule 18.6). Within each of these rules citations for specific types of materials are discussed and examples of citations are given. It is interesting to note that in many instances the specific rule portion of rule 18 must be used in conjunction with other rules. Often the instruction to analogize to another rule is given. Rule 18 is going to be one which the writer can use, but it will require some knowledge of other rules. Rules 16 and 17 are frequently employed in conjunction with rule 18.

Other helpful features of the 17th edition include the addition of a table of abbreviations for citation of words most commonly found in legislative documents (T.10). Moreover Table T.14 containing abbreviations for the names of English language periodicals and words found in periodical titles has been expanded to include many more titles.