Presentation to LLAGNY in January 2013

1. Going Digital:
The Challenges of e-Books in Law Libraries
LLAGNY Education Program
January 24, 2013
Bess Reynolds
Technical Services Manager
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

2. 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
Presented by Bess Reynolds

3. Original e-Book Model
•One book
•One device
•One reader
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4. An e-Book
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5. And the Loose-leaf
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6. E-Books with DRM
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7. 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
Presented by Bess Reynolds

8. IN CASE YOU MISSED THAT:
Law firm libraries currently providing e-books
to lawyers
Yes
No
Other
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9. Survey of Law Firms
Size of Participating Law Firms
50
40
30
20
10
0
Less than 200 200 – 499 500 – 999 1,000 or more
lawyers lawyers lawyers lawyers
Presented by Bess Reynolds

10. 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
Presented by Bess Reynolds

11. 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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12. Lexis Digital Library
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13. Lexis e-Book
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14. Lexis and OverDrive
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15. Thomson Proview Platform
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16. Thomson Proview Sample Title
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17. Technical Services may be ready
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18. DESK BOOKS
26 Titles >
1,100 Copies >
2,100 Volumes!
(Every year)
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19. But are the Lawyers Ready?
• Pros:
– Currency
– Portability
– Full text searching, bookmarks, links to
additional content
• Cons:
– Cost
– Licensing
– Privacy
– Proprietary platforms
– Work habits
Presented by Bess Reynolds

20. Cartoon by Bess Reynolds
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21. 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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22. NYLI Integration = 1 Search Silo
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23. E-books Integrated in the OPAC
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24. 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
Presented by Bess Reynolds

25. 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/>
Presented by Bess Reynolds

26. Thank You
Contact me:
breynolds@debevoise.com
Follow me on Twitter:
@bibliobess
(Personal tweets, my opinions, not related to my POW)
Presented by Bess Reynolds