Page 34 - Mar2019_BarJournal

BarJournal COLuMN

lEgal rESEarCH & wrITIng
JULY/AUGUST 2015

EBOOkS fOr lEgal rESEarCH

Kathleen M . Dugan

“Legal” eBooks Defined: Merriam Webster Thomson Reuters currently offers court rules, searching and filtering, internal hyperlinking,
defines an eBook as “a book composed in or treatises, nutshells, hornbooks, topical codes, printing, and downloading. LJP (www.
converted to digital format for display on a jurisdictional and practice area-specific titles, and lawjournalpress.com) offers eBooks on many
computer screen or handheld device.” (www. features include online reading, printing, note- topics, including antitrust, bankruptcy, commercial
merriam-webster.com/dictionary/e-book )”Legal” taking, highlighting, and bookmarking. eBooks law, communications, criminal law, education
eBooks are simply eBooks on a legal topic such from both Lexis and Thomson Reuters integrate law, entertainment and sports law, immigration
as contract or tort law. eBooks for legal research with their corresponding online databases. law, insurance law, intellectual property, medical
are available on a large variety of subjects and can Other eBook providers include the ABA, malpractice, products liability, and securities.
be purchased individually or as part of online Fastcase, The National Consumer Law Center LJP allows browsing, full-text searching, note-
collections or proprietary databases. Several Ohio (NCLC), the Practising Law Institute (PLI), Law taking, highlighting, and downloading. Although
county law libraries also purchase various eBook Journal Press (LJP), and ProQuest. The ABA not as well-known, ProQuest’s Ebook Central
collections for their patrons. has taken a multi-faceted approach to selling (proquest.libguides.com/ebookcentral/home)
Because they can be read on personal its eBooks. At last count, the ABA sold over 950 provides selected eBooks on general legal reference
computers, tablets, smart phones, and certain eBooks in .epub format on its website (www. and other topics.
dedicated readers (e.g., Kindle), eBooks offer americanbar.org/products/), while also offering Finally, some state and local bar associations
lawyers mobility and convenience. Although eBooks through both the OverDrive platform also sell eBooks for legal research. For example,
eBook vendors sell their eBooks in a lot of formats, that Lexis utilizes and ProView from Thomson the New York State Bar Association (http://www.
“legal” eBooks are primarily limited to .pdf, Reuters. Fastcase (www.fastcase.com) provides 29 nysba.org/ebooks/) publishes over 50 eBooks on
.epub, .doc, .docx, or Amazon Kindle formats. treatise libraries, including bankruptcy, business a wide range of topics. Online CLE booklets can
A technology called digital rights management practice, construction law, elder law, employment also be considered eBooks.
governs the accessibility, use, modification, discrimination, family law, insurance, LLCs,
and functionality of eBooks, and features can personal injury, and real estate. The Fastcase Free “Legal” eBooks: There are only a few places
include online reading, downloading, book- collection functions like an online legal research to find truly free “legal” eBooks. The Center for
like browsing, keyword searching, integrated database, allowing browsing by library or title, Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (www.
hyperlinks, copying, pasting, printing, notations, full-text searching by keyword or natural language, cali.org/) offers 15 “100% Free” eBooks that are
and bookmarks. This article will identify key citation look-up, copying and pasting, and great for academics on bankruptcy, contracts,
legal research vendors and a few places to find printing, downloading or emailing. evidence, taxation, torts, trusts, and other topics.
free “legal” eBooks. For specialized legal research, NCLC (https:// Ohio public library users can access selected
library.nclc.org) offers a Digital Library of eBooks, “legal” eBooks through CLEVNET (https://
“Legal” eBook Vendors: The top two “legal” including Debtor Rights, Fair Credit Reporting, Fair clevnet.overdrive.com/collections/featured/1),
eBook vendors are Lexis and Thomson Reuters. Debt Collection, Home Foreclosures, Mortgage the Cuyahoga County Public Library (https://ccpl.
Lexis offers a Digital Library through the Lending, and Repossessions. The NCLC library overdrive.com/collections/featured/1), and the
OverDrive platform that is accessible through also operates like an online legal research database Ohio Digital Library (https://ohdbks.overdrive.
a branded website or a mobile optimized site. which is searchable using keywords, phrases, com/collections/featured/1). Finally, Barnes &
Lexis coverage includes primary law, deskbooks, and proximity operators and which permits Noble (www.barnesandnoble.com) offers 13 free
code books, treatises and much. The Lexis Digital annotations, highlighting, bookmarking, copying Nook eBooks on legal education, ethics, writing,
Library is compatible with all major devices and and pasting, printing, emailing, and downloading. and practice.
browsers and allows online reading, searching, PLI Plus (https://plus.pli.edu/) offers a free
internal hyperlinking, annotating, highlighting, test drive of its eBook library, which contains
copying and pasting, and printing. Thomson treatises, course handbooks, Answer books, and Kathleen M. Dugan serves as the head Librarian
Reuters offers eBooks through ProView, which forms on 25 practice areas, including accounting, of The Cleveland Law Library. She has been a
requires a free eReader APP, but content is banking, employment, health care, insurance, CMBA member since 2003. She can be reached
accessible on desktops and most mobile devices. patents, and tax. PLI features include browsing, at (216) 861-5070 or kdugan@clelaw.lib.oh.us.
34 | Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal clemetrobar.org