Going Digital: the Challenges of eBooks in Law Libraries

Going Digital:The Challenges of e-Books in Law Libraries

LLAGNY Education ProgramJanuary 24, 2013

Bess ReynoldsTechnical Services ManagerDebevoise & Plimpton LLP

Presented by Bess Reynolds

What is an e-Book?

e-book, n.Pronunciation:  Brit. /ˈiːbʊk/ , U.S. /ˈiˌbʊk/ Forms:  19– E-book, 19– e-book, 19– eBook, 19– ebook. Etymology:  < e- comb. form+ book n.

    A hand-held electronic device on which the text of a book can

be read. Also: a book whose text is available in an electronic format for reading on such a device or on a computer screen; (occas.) a book whose text is available only or primarily on the Internet.

Source: Oxford English Dictionary online

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•One book

•One device

•One reader

Original e-Book Model

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An e-Book

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And the Loose-leaf

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E-Books with DRM

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Just the Facts*

Of 85 law firm libraries:

– 10 are currently providing e-books (12%)

– 17 plan to purchase e-books within the next year (21%)

– 32 have tested e-books from legal publishers (38%)

– 23 know of lawyers using legal e-books (27%)

*Based on a survey of law firm librarians conducted in June 2012

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IN CASE YOU MISSED THAT:

Law firm libraries currently providing e-books to lawyers

Yes

No

Other

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Survey of Law Firms

Size of Participating Law Firms

0

10

20

30

40

50

Less than 200lawyers

200 – 499 lawyers

500 –  999lawyers

1,000 or morelawyers

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SURVEY DETAILS

More survey results can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/bpo5pqa

• Survey was conducted from June 10 – 29, 2012

• Librarians from 86 firms and one private law library in another business responded

• Some librarians did not answer all questions• 2 respondents did not give names

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Three Vendors

• Lexis Nexis– Purchase from the Lexis store or– Contract with Overdrive

• Thomson West– 7 steps to use Proview proprietary platform

• Wolters Kluwer– WK eReader is still under construction

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Lexis Digital Library

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Lexis e-Book

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Lexis and OverDrive

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Thomson Proview Platform

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Thomson Proview Sample Title

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Technical Services may be ready

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DESK BOOKS

26 Titles >

1,100 Copies >

2,100 Volumes!

(Every year)

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But are the Lawyers Ready?

• Pros:– Currency– Portability– Full text searching, bookmarks, links to

additional content• Cons:

– Cost– Licensing– Privacy– Proprietary platforms– Work habits

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Cartoon by Bess Reynolds

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Just in Time Not Just in Case

• Access not ownership

• Partnering with New York Law Institute to provide seamless access to an enhanced collection including 40,000+ e-books

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NYLI Integration = 1 Search Silo

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E-books Integrated in the OPAC

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Librarian Manifesto

• Libraries should own the e-books they purchase• Vendors should recognize the role that librarians play

in collection development, acquisitions & distribution• Vendors should work to simplify the procedures for

obtaining and managing e-books• Legal publishers should work with ILS vendors to

make the e-books available directly in the OPAC, eliminating the need for multiple silos of discovery

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Selected Resources

• “An open letter about ebooks and Douglas County Libraries.” Douglas County Libraries. Web. 24 Jan. 2013 <http://douglascountylibraries.org/content/ebooks-and-DCL>

• Comparison of e-book formats. Wikipedia. Web accessed 1/24/2013: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats>

• Kelly, Michael. "Top Ebook Distributors, ILS Vendors to Have Sitdown With ReadersFirst Library Coalition." The Digital Shift. 3 Jan 2013. The Library Journal. 24 Jan 2013. <http://tinyurl.com/b94nvuv>.

• Reynolds, Bess. “The Challenges of e-books in Law Firm Libraries.” The New Librarian, AALL-ILTA White Paper: <http://read.uberflip.com/i/87421/64 >

• Various articles about Douglas County Libraries. Evoke. 24 Jan. 2013. <http://evoke.cvlsites.org/>

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Thank You

Contact me:[email protected]

Follow me on Twitter:@bibliobess

(Personal tweets, my opinions, not related to my POW)