The New Librarian

AALLand

ILTAdigital white paper

It is a fact that lawyers live in a world ofinformation overload. Adoption of online information tools requires ease of use. Lawyers don’t want to have to learn a new platform for every resource they use in the course of a work day. But what about e-books?

To date, major legal publishers are feeling their way through the maze of offering electronic versions of their publications. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP conducted e-book trials with three legal publishers. Let’s see how they fared.

The TrialsIn 2011, our firm set up e-book trials with LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters and Wolters Kluwer. Our initial foray into e-books began when three of our partners wrote a treatise, “Takeovers: a Strategic Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions,” which Wolters Kluwer made available as an e-book. The library was asked to set up trial-uses for attorneys.

At the same time, the firm began a pilot project for lawyers and staff to test iPads in the network environment, creating a pool of potential users. After reviewing questions of format and

devices, I determined that the EPUB format was most commonly used by our vendors. The firm network supports iPads and iPhones, so they were the only devices suitable for the trial (dedicated e-readers such as the Kindle and Nook were not supported by the firm). Although it is possible to read an e-book on an iPhone, it is not practical, so the iPad became the device of choice. Access to business email on the device helped users take advantage of some special features of the e-books, such as the ability to email sections or chapters.

In researching the use of e-books in law firms, I found that legal publishers had not progressed into the e-book market as nimbly as publishers of novels and other more popular works. Kindle and other dedicated e-readers were premised on a one-book/one-device/one-reader business model. How would that work in a law firm library? True, public libraries make that work, but they deal primarily with e-book aggregators. Although this requires a standard, lowest-common-denominator licensing agreement, individuals can check out e-books from public libraries, at least once they find the title(s) they want.

We purchase directly from the publishers for 95 percent of the materials our lawyers need. When asking how three big competitive

The Challenges of E-Books in Law Firm Librariesby Bess Reynolds of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

The Challenges of E-Books in Law Firm Libraries

corporations were going to sell e-books to law firms, it was no surprise to find that each publisher went about it differently. Even now, the publishers are still developing a strategy.

The mechanics of acquiring and distributing books, making sure they are up to date, and retrieving books from departing attorneys are all part of the job of the technical services department. Transferring these tasks to e-books was therefore already within our department’s job description. How did we tackle this beast?

Our firm confronted some issues with the publishers who offered us their e-books.

Wolters KluwerWe began with Wolters Kluwer. The company already had a management tool for libraries to register users and set up IDs and passwords. At that stage, their eDis platform was hosted by their parent company in the Netherlands. Although the site was in English, notifications arrived in Dutch, an oddity that needed to be explained to the lawyers.

We were able to log in to the eDis site and begin the process of registering lawyers who volunteered to test a digital version of the “Takeovers” treatise. An acknowledgement email message was sent to each person who registered. The following steps were necessary to complete the transaction:

• The end user was required to go to the Apple app store to download the proprietary eDis software.

• Once the app was installed, they registered with the user name and password from the Dutch language email authorization.

• The user was then able to download the e-book. At that time, they could choose to open it in one of several applications, including the commonly used iBooks.

• Once the e-book was on the user’s device, it could be found in the iBooks library, and the end user did not have to use the eDis app to read the e-book.

One partner responded to an internal survey at the end of the trial-use period. He said he found the e-book convenient as he had used it to find specific information while out of the office. He added

that although e-books were useful for home and travel, he would not want to substitute digital for print. On pricing, he was adamant that we should not pay a premium for e-books.

To my knowledge, no lawyer filled out the evaluation requested by the publisher.

As of this writing, Wolters Kluwer has not released the e-book platform for use in the U.S., although they did demonstrate it at the AALL annual conference in Boston. The company is publishing about 70 e-book titles, including a large amount of materials for the academic market of law students. CCH-branded books, primarily tax titles, are available on the website for direct purchase.

LexisNexisLexis determined early on that they were in the content business and partnered with Overdrive — the largest aggregator in the e-book market — to create an additional solution to provide access to their legal titles. Before they signed the agreement with Overdrive, Lexis’ e-books were available through the online Lexis store only, which is still an option. They’re also available using the library management through Overdrive.

We were given the opportunity to test the desk book “New York Civil Practice Law and Rules” (NY CPLR), popularly known as the “Redbook” (see sidebar for more information).

But talk about complicated! These are the steps necessary to obtain a single copy.

• The end user must register on the Lexis website.

• When logged on to the website, they must then search for a title.

• Select the appropriate format (EPUB, Mobi or PDF). You have to know which to select for your device, and not all lawyers — very few, in fact —are technically savvy.

• The user must have an e-reader installed on their device.

• Download the file to a folder where it can be found at a later time.

• In order to read the e-book on a device, the user must sync the device with their computer.

• If the user is subscribed to updates, they will receive email messages instructing them when and how to download updates.

• The user can read the book using the iBook application, and the e-book appears in the user’s iBooks library.

No busy lawyer is interested in doing anything that requires that many steps! In addition, since this was an iPilot trial and the users were only able to sync with their personal computers, they would have the additional challenge of doing all of this from home. The process did not bode well as an introduction to e-books at our firm.

What’s a Desk Book?The NY CPLR is an example of a desk book. These are generally paperback titles that are issued annually or semi-annually and made available to lawyers as copies to keep in their offices. These books tend to be heavily used titles such as court rules or certain annotated codes like the Collier’s bankruptcy set, or “New York Laws Governing Business Entities.” Our firm provides 25 different titles of desk books from six different vendors. All other titles in the library have one or two copies and are checked out in the usual way.

The Challenges of E-Books in Law Firm Libraries

Lexis is now using two different ways to distribute e-books. They can be purchased directly from their LexisNexis online store or borrowed using the Lexis eLending program through their collaboration with Overdrive. Librarians determine which content is available. The lawyers must visit the Lexis website or download an app from Overdrive that allows them to check out e-books. (The site is still under beta testing as of mid-October 2012.) There are about 1,445 titles available. In any case, the online store is oriented toward individual purchases of individual titles, not a library model.

Thomson WestThomson’s proprietary platform is known as ProView. They initially offered two titles for our trial period — “McKinney’s New York Rules of Court,” another popular desk book, and “The Transformation of Business Development.” Thomson limited the study to seven users. The study lasted exactly three months, after which the e-books disappeared from our devices. They currently offer 230 titles and expect to provide 500 by the year’s end. Thomson charges a premium of 10 to 15 percent for e-books over the price for print.

Again, we found the sign-up process for access to even a single e-book to be cumbersome.

• The library places the order with the vendor’s rep.

• The library receives an order confirmation email message.

• The end user receives an activation email message outlining next steps.

• From the activation message, the user accesses OnePass, the Thomson user password account manager, to assign the e-book library to their existing OnePass account.

• The user must download the ProView application to iTunes.

• As soon as the ProView app is downloaded and opened, the user is asked to log in using OnePass. Credentials are saved on the device for future use so subsequent sign in is not necessary.

• The user opens “Your Library” and finally has access to the purchased e-book.

Compare that process to taking a book off a shelf. Traditionally a lawyer only has to take a single action once a year: reply to a library email message inquiring as to whether they still wish to receive the printed book. The library staff orders, receives and unpacks the books, checks them in to the system and labels them for distribution. The mail room picks up the books, and they magically appear in the attorney’s office ready to use.

What the Publishers Have in CommonThe e-books in EPUB format share many similarities. Each allows the reader to create bookmarks, make annotations in the form of notes and adjust the appearance by changing fonts and sizes. You can also copy and email selected text.

Lexis and Thomson, who have created their own platforms, justify propietary systems by saying the software allows them to

develop special features within the e-books. Among these are the ability to carry notes and bookmarks forward to new editions. If the e-book is borrowed from the library, the vendor keeps track of patrons through their login credentials and retains their notes to be reapplied when they next check out the book or receive an updated edition.

Wolters Kluwer has added the ability to use a split screen to view two e-books or an e-book and an outside document at the same time.

In addition, the e-books allow linking outside of their content to other resources, such as primary law. Since each of these providers are major publishers of legal databases, they benefit from directing lawyers to Lexis, Westlaw or CCH Intelliconnect. Although the latter is not a metered resource, the first two can quickly add to the monthly database bills as they already have your research ID. For Thomson West, the links only work with Westlaw Next. If your firm, like ours, does not yet subscribe to Westlaw Next but sticks with Westlaw Classic, you may be hearing from your lawyers about barriers to research. Lexis links to Lexis Advance, their new platform.

While these are useful tools, they mimic the use of print books and hardly represent earth-shattering developments for lawyers who are used to spreading everything out on their desks and making liberal use of highlighters and post-it notes.

Nothing in these e-books is so enticing that we are rushing to substitute them for our existing print collection. In fact, in a year since our trials began, not one lawyer has asked the library to purchase an e-book.

Survey Reveals Similar ResultsAccording to a Zoomerang survey I conducted among law firm librarians in June 2012 (view survey results), we’re not the only ones reaching this conclusion. Our colleagues at other law firms aren’t buying many e-books either.

Of the 85 law firm librarians answering the question, “Are you providing e-books to the attorneys in your firm?” only 10 (12 percent) said yes. About 21 percent of the law firm libraries are planning to purchase e-books in the coming year. Almost 40 percent of the librarians have tested e-books, so presumably they are basing their decisions on concrete experience.

Librarians are not ignoring e-books with legal content, but I believe they are hesitating for good reason. Firms with 500 or more lawyers had not bought any e-books. This supports my conclusion that the vendors have made the entire experience of acquiring, distributing and supporting e-books far too complicated. I have not addressed licensing and digital rights management, which add additional complexity. Pricing is another issue to consider, with Thomson specifically charging a premium for e-books over print. Lexis is keeping prices the same, and Wolters Kluwer offers discounts if you purchase both formats.

RecommendationsFrom the American Lawyer Law Librarian Survey of 2012, we find that 96 percent of law firm libraries are using an integrated library system (ILS). If you are unfamiliar with the ILS, it is a type of proprietary database. The catalog is specifically designed to create and maintain library resources in the form of bibliographic records. In our case, it handles all of the library’s circulation, serials maintenance, check in/out, routing, acquisitions, etc.

The Challenges of E-Books in Law Firm Libraries

We catalog all print and electronic subscriptions that the firm purchases.

After years of working to assure that everything in our collection can be found with a single search from the lawyer’s desktop, we are faced with the prospect of splintering resources into multiple silos should the vendors continue on their course of requiring customers to use their platforms. Libraries may lose the ability to gather meaningful usage statistics.

Of those libraries using an ILS, two vendors support 61 percent of the libraries and two other vendors account for an additional 27 percent of the firms. Since 88 percent of law firm library systems are provided by four companies, we as librarians should actively engage with the ILS vendors to encourage them to become the hosts of our e-books. The system already has all patron information, our lawyers know how to use the ILS, and it is searchable from their desktops.

In addition, we should demand the right to own e-books just as we own our print titles.

While Lexis is working with Overdrive, we have found that platform to be unnecessarily complicated, as currently designed.

There is a precedent for this idea. The Douglas County Libraries, a consortium of public libraries in Colorado, has already begun an experiment to host their own books. They installed Adobe Content Server to manage e-books and developed an open-source software that serves as a discovery layer. They have made agreements with many publishers to buy books outright. According to Monique Sendze, Associate Director of Information Technology at Douglas County Libraries, in “The E-Book Experiment”: “the number of steps from search and discover to check out [of an e-book] has been streamlined to no more than three clicks.”

Law firm librarians need to speak out to our vendors and insist that they concentrate on providing content and let us manage our own books whether digital or print. This is our future, so let’s make it workable, efficient and forward-looking to better serve our lawyers and the practice of law. A/I

Bess Reynolds is the Technical Services

Manager in the Library and Knowledge

Management Department at Debevoise

& Plimpton LLP. She specializes in

implementing new technologies to

enhance discovery of the firm’s print

and digital resources. Before becoming

a law librarian, Bess worked in banking

and finance. She can be reached at

breynolds@debevoise.com.

This article was first published in AALL/ILTA’s October 2012 white paper titled “The New Librarian” and is reprinted here with permission. For more information about AALL, visit their website at www.aallnet.org. For more information about ILTA, visit their website at www.iltanet.org.

The New Librarian

illustration by thomas boucher, all rights reserved

AALLand

ILTAdigital white paper

OCTOBER 2012