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Catherine Sanders Reach |
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ABA TECHSHOW
Chicago, IL
April 4, 2003 |
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American Association of Law Libraries/Aspen
Legal Publishers Law and Business Grant (February 2002) |
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Examine the concept of the digital library from
the perspective of the private law firm |
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Three surveys: Lawyers, Law Librarians, and
Legal Publishers |
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Feasible – |
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Able to be accomplished; possible |
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Viable – |
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Capable of being successful or continuing to be
effective |
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A wholly electronic collection |
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Internet |
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CD-ROM; DVD |
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Software accessible |
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Physical location |
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Information professionals provide services
physically and electronically |
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Subset: Virtual Library |
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Wholly Electronic collection |
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No physical location |
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Information professionals provide services
electronically |
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Part of the larger Legal Technology Survey
Report |
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Online Research volume |
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Report includes CLE |
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AALL/Aspen grant did not cover this survey |
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2002 Legal Technology Survey Report |
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98% of attorneys use a computer |
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98% of attorneys have access to the Internet |
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50% of solos have Dial-up and 34% have DSL |
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45% of large firms have T1 or better (and 43% of
large firm attorneys don’t know) |
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79% of attorneys have a network |
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Lawyers do their own legal research |
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63% yourself |
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24% other firm attorneys, 5% clerks and summer
associates,2% law librarians, 5% paralegals |
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Lawyers Research Mainly in the Office |
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70% personal office |
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17% library, 6% off-site library, 6% home |
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Starting Points |
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46% Fee-based |
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32% Legal Specific Search Engine |
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18% General Search Engine |
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Free Website Used Most Often: |
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Findlaw (50.3%) |
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Fee-Based Online Service Used Most Often: |
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Westlaw (49.5%) |
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Survey of Legal Publishers |
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U.S. based, for profit publishers of print legal
publications |
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60 publishers identified from AcqWeb, Findlaw’s
List of Legal Publishers |
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Phone interviews or e-mail questionnaire |
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26 respondents |
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Company Size (Employees + Revenue) |
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20% Small |
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44% Medium |
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36% Large |
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Geographic Coverage (International, National,
Regional, State) |
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28% Narrow |
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36% Intermediate |
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36% Wide |
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Scope of Material (Primary, Secondary,
Reference, Other) |
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20% Focused |
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40% Moderate |
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40% Broad |
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Convert Print Titles to Digital? |
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62% Yes |
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38% No |
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If Yes, Continue Both Print and Digital? |
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92% Yes |
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8% No |
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Digital Production Exceed Print in the Future? |
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13% Yes |
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87% No |
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“If anything, they should come down in price.” |
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“I have no idea – but everything seems to get
more expensive.” |
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“Expect little change.” |
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Invitation via law librarian electronic
discussion lists to an online survey |
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AALL chapters and divisions |
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SLA Legal Division |
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Law-lib |
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300 Respondents |
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170 Private Law Firm Librarians |
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Position in Library |
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72% Administrative |
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24% Reader Services, 3% Technical Services, 1%
Electronic Services |
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Education |
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76% MLS/MLIS |
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10% MA/MIS, 13% JD, 1% PhD |
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Number of Attorneys in Firm |
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58% - Over 150 |
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2% (2-20), 22% (21-75), 18% (76-150) |
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Federal Primary Law |
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Show almost 100% awareness that statutes, regs,
caselaw, and legislative materials are available via fee-based websites |
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Your State Primary Law |
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Show almost 100% awareness that statutes and
caselaw are available via fee-based websites |
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Secondary Materials |
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Show an 80-85% awareness that treatises and
legal reference are available via
fee-based websites |
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Highly Likely |
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87% Cost |
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66% Licensing |
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58% No Print Equivalent in Collection |
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29% Copyright |
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Likely |
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36% Training |
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35% Involvement of IS/IT |
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29% Copyright |
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Somewhat Likely |
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32% Ownership versus Access |
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Federal Primary Law |
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Highly likely to replace caselaw (36%) |
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Highly unlikely to replace statutes (52%) |
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Your State Primary Law |
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Highly unlikely to replace statutes (53%),
caselaw (30%), regulations (35%, or legislative materials (23%) |
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Secondary Materials |
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Highly likely to replace current awareness
materials (38%) |
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Somewhat likely to somewhat unlikely to replace
treatises and legal reference |
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The digital library is feasible, however it is
not viable |
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Lawyers are moving towards online research, but
many still prefer print |
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Legal publishers are committed to taking their
print online, but there are still many publications only available in print |
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Librarians site cost, licensing, and copyright
as barriers to purchasing online subscriptions |
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Primary law, including caselaw and statutes, is
conducive to an online format and used in an online environment. |
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Secondary materials, including treatises, legal
periodicals, and practice specific resources are still in need of
refinement and acceptance to be viable in a digital world. |
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Notes
