ereadersinlawlibrariesaall2010

E-Book Readers:

What Law Librarians Should KnowLyonette Louis-Jacques, llou@midway.uchiago.edu

D’Angelo Law Library, University of Chicago Law School

I-4, Turning the Page: e-Book Readers in Law Libraries

American Association of Law Libraries, Denver, Colorado, July 13, 2010

Topics

• Features of e-books readers – what law librarians should know

• Results of survey of law library directors on e-readers

• Results of survey of law librarians and computing professionals generally on e-readers

• Future of e-readers in law libraries?

Comparing E-Book Readers: Kindle, iPad, nook, Sony Reader

• Commonalities:

– small, thin, lightweight, PDF

– The Kindle:

Comparing E-Book Readers: Kindle, iPad, nook, Sony Reader

• Differences, general:

– prices range from $149-$499

– e-ink v. backlit display

– Touchscreen, tap, slide v. click, hit key

– storage capacity

– e-bookstore offerings, ebooks via public libraries?

– battery life, text-to-speech, 3G free wireless, web browser, keyboard, color display, rotation, weight, size, durability, etc.

The iPad

Comparing E-Book Readers: Kindle, iPad, nook, Sony Reader

• Considerations for law use:

– searching

– color (different color highlight, graphs, charts)

– highlighting, note-taking

– pagination

– hyperlinking (to legal databases)

– page jumps, flip back and forth, quickly browse

– law e-content, apps

– lending e-readers (Sony public?), reserves, ILL?

Sample Law E-Content on the Kindle: Nutshells

Law Faculty Publications

iPad

• Debbie Ginsberg, Kathryn Broad (Cool Tools Café):

“[W]e use our iPads for to keep up with news and blogs, sketch out ideas and diagrams, read all kinds of ebooks and texts, take and share notes, and even do a little research.”

WestlawNext…

…loves the iPad*

WestlawNext Loves the iPad

• *Greg Lambert, 3 Geeks and a Law Blog, June 3, 2010 (maybe LexisNexis, Bloomberg too?):

“Ready or not... the folks at WestlawNextseem to think that the iPad and other touch-based, tablet-style computers are here to stay and will be making a significant impact in online usage in the next 18-24 months…”

See also, WestLawNext Mobile.

E-Book Readers, Mobiles Apps: iPhone, Android, Blackberry

• Vicki Steiner, Mobile Applications for Law Students and Lawyers

• Hadi Amjadi, Kris Niedringhaus, Android Apps for Law Librarians (PDF)

• Melissa Serfass, Kama Sue Siegel, iPhone Apps for Law Librarians…

• Blackberry Apps for Lawyers

• UN app for the iPhone (Charter, UDHR, etc.)

E-Book Readers, Survey I

• Law Library Directors email list (lawlibdir-l@lawlib.wuacc.edu)

• 32 responses as of June 23, 2010

• Question #1: E-Readers Purchased?

• 14 Yes (I included 1 library that planned to purchase e-readers here), 18 No

2. Which E-Book Readers?

• 12 out of 14 responding libraries own Kindles, 23 Kindles total, with 1 library owning 8; most (8 libraries) own 1 Kindle; 4 specified owning the Kindle DX; 2 own 0;

• 7 out of 14 libraries own iPads, 9 iPads total

• 4 out of 14 own Sony Reader, 4 Sonys total

• 1 out of 14 own the nook, 1 nook total

Conclusions

• 3 libraries own the top 3 e-book readers: Kindle, iPad, Sony Reader

• 1 library owns all the top 4 (curiosity, value in trying new technology)

• No responding library owns any other type of e-reader

• Most law libraries are not buying e-readers.

• Big gaps in brand ownership - the Kindle is the most popular; the Nook the least.

E-Book Readers, Survey II

• eReaders in Law Libraries (SurveyMonkey, July 2010)

• AALL Computing Services SIS (cssis-l)

• Law Librarians email list (law-lib)

• International Law Librarians list (int-law)

• Law IT/technology/computing pros (teknoids)

1. Has your library purchased e-book readers?

• 77 out of 84 (about 90%) respondents have not purchased e-readers for patron use.

• 7 or less than 10% have purchased 14 e-readers for patron use:

9 Kindles (1 DX)

3 Sony Readers

2 iPads

0 nooks, eDGe, Que, iLiad, other

General Experiences

• Libraries that haven’t purchased cite:– cost,

– lack of patron requests

– possible licensing and copyright issues.

– waiting and seeing how the market develops – for example, for public law libraries?

• Some libraries that have purchased are still reviewing them – e.g. use the Kindle DX for document delivery?

• Libraries that have offered e-readers for patron used indicate varying responses – patron express little interest or love them.

2. Which e-readers do your patrons use?

• Kindles – 58 (10 DX)

• iPads – 28

• Nooks – 11

• Sony Readers – 10

• eDGe – 1

• iLiad – 1

3. Personal e-reader purchases?

• 42 responses

• 14 have no e-readers

• 22 have some Kindle iteration and/or app.

• 7 have the iPad and/or app

• 15 have more than one e-reader and/or app

• 3 Nooks

• No Sony readers

List of personal e-readers used

Kindle, Kindle 2, Kindle DX

Kindle for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android

Kindle for PC, Mac, netbook

Stanza, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Overdrive, Ziniomagazine reader for iPhone

Aldiko and Fbreaker for Android

Ubook for Windows Mobile

Nook

iBooks and Good Reader for iPad

Why So Many? Some Guesses

• Weight differences

• Lighting / eye strain

• Wrist, shoulder pain / ergonomics

• Early adopters

• Portability

• Flexibility

• “I love my Kindle”, but

• Trying out new technology

4. Factors in Selecting E-Readers

• Very/most important:

– Ebookstore offerings

– Timing / wait and see

– Durability

– Cost

– Users’ preferences

Important: Size, Weight, E-Ink

Not important: Color

Other Factors Listed in Comments

• License restrictions and costs to upgrade

• Patron useability and lose-ability

• Proper pagination of the works

• Instructions in my language

• Accessibility

• What law books are available for this device?

5.Primary Concerns with E-Readers?

• Too many to decide; no standard

• Not enough available legal, scholarly content

• DRM, usage and licensing restrictions

• Cost (and security, potential theft)

• Not sure patrons will use, need

• Functionality (cut-and-paste, pagination, note-taking, not for serious reading, can’t jump around, have multiple texts open, etc.)

Selected Comments

• “Still have to shakedown the main e-reader devices. Too many contenders and cost too much right now.”

• “Not convenient for serious reading done in non-linear fashion, where one jumps around a lot between endnotes and text and different sections.”

• “I think it's a transitional device. I think the iPad is the start of the convergence that we'll see with the various hardware apps. Students will be happier to have just one device that they can use as a smart phone, e-book reader and word processor.”

6. Benefits of E-Readers?

• “…[T]hey can hold a lot of books and journal articles in a small, lightweight package.“

• may reduce costs for students

• save library money, space

• earth-friendly, small footprint

• portability is the future; value in keeping up

• convenience, ease of use appeal to millennials

• alternate delivery of content

Selected Comments

• “Compact and can hold many, many books in a single device. If we could have a device for each practice group with the primary materials for each including the main secondary treatises, it would be great to be able to check those out to an attorney or even, depending on price, give each new attorney one as a "desk copy" to keep in their office and to take with them wherever they need.”

• “I think there is something to be said for not being left out when new technology is introduced. Even if the use can't be immediately determined. I think there is value in "keeping up" and learning new things.”

• “I am unaware of any benefits of e-reading in connection with law at this time.”

7. Any additional comments?

• “Our patrons' needs are going to be different from a law school library, so how and when we consider incorporating a tool like this will be different, too.”

• “Want the entire West Reporter system available on ereader. Searchable and with digest & "good law" indicators.”

• “I recently saw an article that dedicated readers could soon be an evolutionary deadend. Smart phone and IPad apps for multipurpose gadgets will win out.”

Future of E-Readers in Law Libraries?

• E-readers are not widely adopted in law libraries now.

• Competing e-reader technologies, high costs, availability of law content may continue to be major barriers to purchase.

• Four e-readers have some foothold in law libraries – Kindle, iPad, Sony, Nook, but, are the days of these e-readers numbered? Multi-function devices might win out.

• Law librarian/computing pro early adopters are playing a role, trying out and reviewing the various e-readers.

• The future is mobile, and so must legal information/content for e-readers be. Portability is the key.

E-Readers, for Winnie the Pooh?

E-Readers, for Gina Wilkins’ Romances?

E-Readers for Law Content?: Shelves Nearly Empty

The Future of E-Readers? How Will She Access Law E-Books?