Information collections defining a common subject such as a codified or uncodified body of law are stored on a computer readable medium in association with temporal information indicating the state or status with respect to time of parts of the information collection, including different versions of the same part. Parts of an information collection that are different versions of each other have different temporal information associated therewith and can be accessed based on the temporal information. Thus, the temporal information may be used to control access to and display of parts of the subject in a computer system based on time as search or request parameter. In a preferred embodiment, the subject is a statutory body of law such as the United States Code. Sections of the Code are stored in association with temporal information such as date of enactment, effective date and termination date. A researcher can access a version of any part of the Code in effect at any particular time.