This is the first in a series of articles that will highlight the ELUL Section’s Treatise on Florida Environmental & Land Use Law. Future articles will spotlight authors; discuss the authoring process; explore how the Treatise is being used; and initiate conversations about innovations for continuing development. Whatever the subject, our overall goal is to promote use of the Treatise and to make the Treatise an even more valuable tool!

     During the past 5 years, as REGfiles has worked with ELUL Section members and affiliates in the creation and updating of articles, we continue to be surprised by the number of members and affiliates who don’t realize that the “old green books” have been replaced by an entirely new Treatise with fresh content, new character and digital capabilities.

     Fresh content. The new Treatise consists of 32 topical chapters containing 133 articles and over 1,900 pages. Chapter topics range from Administrative Proceedings to Wetlands and Surface Waters – with many topics of interest in between.

     Twice a year, authors are polled to update their articles to assure the articles are current with the latest underlying laws, rules, science and engineering and to create new articles. Updates are published each February and August. In February 2005, 15 articles were updated.

     New character. In the past, updates for the “old green books” were distributed as separate, colored supplements. Users had to read the original article then read the colored supplement. In the new Treatise, each article is updated and replaced in full. Not only does this make it easy and quick to read and reference, but it creates a full-text archive for future use.

Access to article content is facilitated by a variety of navigational aids. An alphabetical Treatise Contents lists articles by chapter; each chapter has a table of contents; and Authors, Cases, Citations and Subject indexes help users quickly find information of interest.

     Digital capabilities. Currently the Treatise is distributed on compact disk. A home page provides a central location to move into and around articles. Bookmarks and hypertext links are provided for quick navigation. And, a full-text word search feature, based on words, word roots or phrases, makes finding and retrieving particular articles of interest a breeze.

     The compact disk can be used to view articles on your computer screen or printed in an 8.5" x 11" page format. A completely revised version of the Treatise is distributed with each bi-annual update. No color-paged supplements here!

     In sum, if you’re still envisioning the Treatise as the “old green books,” take another look. We now see and do the Treatise differently!

     The Treatise is produced through an Alliance of the ELUL Section and REGfiles. As we continue our work together to make this reference tool even more meaningful and useful for members and affiliates alike, we want to hear from you. Send us your ideas and suggestions. You can reach us at REGfiles—850.878.1285 or regfiles@aol.com.

Ellen B. Prest
President
REGfiles, inc.