Ashley Newton, CRIV Chair, Acquisitions and Metadata Librarian, University of California – Irvine
This post provides an update regarding recent changes to the Thomson Reuters Westlaw homepage. Approximately two weeks ago, Thomson Reuters implemented changes that included removing certain content types and placing an “AI Deep Research” section more prominently on the homepage.
Following the update, several AALL members—particularly those affiliated with academic libraries—expressed concerns through listservs and direct outreach to CRIV. Concerns included the nature of the changes, the timing of the implementation in proximity to the start of the academic year, and the lack of advance notification. Some members, however, reported that they had received prior notification of the changes. Member experiences with Thomson Reuters representatives also varied, with some reporting prompt responses and others reporting a lack of follow-up.
In response to these concerns, CRIV contacted its Thomson Reuters representative to formally convey member feedback. In addition to sharing concerns about the homepage changes, CRIV requested a commitment to provide advance notification of future modifications. The representative escalated these concerns to the appropriate product teams, which subsequently provided an option for users to restore Content Types and other resources to the homepage.
To restore Content Types, users can select the profile icon, navigate to Preferences, enable Content and Resources Tabs, and select Content Types.
Several AALL members expressed concern that insufficient time was available to guide patrons through the steps needed to restore such an important navigation feature. As of Wednesday, September 2, CRIV’s Thomson Reuters representative had submitted this concern to the development team for further review. CRIV also recognizes that communication about its regular meetings with Thomson Reuters was not as consistent over the past year. The Committee is working to reestablish a regular meeting schedule and will continue to share relevant updates with AALL members through the CRIV Connection blog
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