System and method for citation processing, presentation and transport and for validating references

A system for identifying, processing, and managing a set of citations in an electronic document, the system comprising a computer having a processor and a memory, the memory comprising code executed by the processor, the system comprising:

• a. an identifying module comprising code when executed by the processor to process the electronic document and identify a first citation;
• b. a reference management module comprising code when executed by the processor to determine whether the first citation is in an unformatted citation;
• c. a query module comprising code when executed by the processor to query a first citation library stored in a first location, the first citation library comprising a first set of citation data;
• d. a comparing module comprising code when executed by the processor to compare the first citation to the first set of citation data;
• e. a citation matching module comprising code when executed by the processor to determine a first set of possible matching citations from the first set of citation data;
• f. wherein the query module further comprises code when executed by the processor to, based on detecting a predetermined event, query a second citation library stored in a second location, the second citation library comprising a second set of citation data, wherein the first and second sets of citation data respectively comprise overlapping citation data and citation format data;
• g. wherein the comparing module further comprises code when executed by the processor to compare the first citation to the second set of citation data;
• h. wherein the citation matching module further comprises code when executed by the processor to determine a second set of possible matching citations from the second set of citation data;
• and
• i. wherein the reference management module further comprises code when executed by the processor to format the first citation based on a selected citation from either the first or second set of possible matching citations.