Authors: Guest Bloggers from the NELLCO Print to Electronic Standing Committee
We are excited to share a White Paper based on a fall 2023 survey of U.S. law librarians conducted by David Walker, then chair of the NELLCO Print to Electronic Standing Committee (PTESC), exploring how law libraries are managing the ongoing transition from print to electronic formats.
Drawing on responses from over 250 librarians across academic, firm, government, and court settings, the report sheds light on collection spending (with the majority of budgets now heavily weighted toward electronic), reliance on interlibrary cooperation, and both the benefits and drawbacks of digital resources—from improved access to concerns about preservation of historical materials and unmet user needs. Notably, many respondents reported challenges in preserving older editions and constraints on serving all user groups under current electronic licenses. Readers will also find insight into how electronic transitions are impacting budgets, user needs, and shared resource practices.
This important paper, and the work of the Print to Electronic Standing Committee, will be a featured topic in an upcoming Technical Services Special Interest Section (TS-SIS) webinar, where committee members will discuss these findings and what they mean for our profession:
TS-SIS Webinar: There Must Be a Digital Copy Somewhere, Right? The State of the Transition from Print to Electronic
Wednesday, February 11 / 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://loyno.zoom.us/meeting/register/0vKdtrQLRTy0Lza1ebcJKA
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