Accessing legal information in Turkey

Abstract

Currently, in the field of law as well as in other fields, societal developments, global interaction, and the increasing importance of technology in acquiring information resources have led to a rapid growth in the number of information sources. Furthermore, this growth has resulted in greater access to various sources. The great majority of the users of law-related information are legal academicians, law students, practicing lawyers, judges, and law consultants. The expectations and demands of these information users are very high. Relevant sources must be instantly accessible, the sources in question must be updated, accurate and comprehensive. In order to meet these expectations, librarians must know and apply the means and methods of access to the related information. Thus, this study is brief demonstration of the issue related to access to law-related-information in Turkey. This paper will address how one gains access to legal information in Turkey. While focusing on this question, the subject of legal resources will also be explained briefly. Lastly, the existing law in Turkey in the field of electronic resources will be explained. As one can imagine, the rapid increase in the quantity and quality of electronic databases makes it practically impossible to master the content of all electronic databases. Books written in Turkey, as well as those published in other countries are increasing in number rapidly, as is the number of articles published in all subject areas. This gives rise to two fundamental questions: 1. What are the necessary legal resources, whether they are written in Turkish or in a foreign language? 2. Where and how can these books and articles be found? A bibliography will help answer the first question. One must go to a library for an answer to the second.