State Bar launches powerful new online research tool
April 15, 2010 – The State Bar of Wisconsin today unveiled a
powerful new legal research tool – Books UnBound™
– a comprehensive online library that will house the entire
collection of CLE publications commonly referred to as the “brown
binder books” and other titles.
Books UnBound™ launches today with 37 individual publications. Approximately
20 more current titles will be added soon. Thereafter, the Books
UnBound™ library will remain up-to-date with future
publications as produced.
The one-year subscription period will not begin until all current
titles are accessible. Thus, those who subscribe early get extended
access for the price of a yearly subscription.
With direct links to the Fastcase database, Books
Unbound™ allows users to link directly to
reference material found within a publication's text. Additionally, the
customization features will allow users to access commonly used practice
forms and copy, paste and print. The Google Search Appliance is in the
process of being integrated into the online books reader, and will
provide for searching across all titles. Until this feature is completed
in the coming weeks, users can access the WisBar.org "Legal Research"
tab for searching. The Legal Research site uses the Google Search
Appliance and will provide the relevant results for Books
Unbound™. In the meantime, the built-in search is a literal
verbatim search.
In the near future, users will be able to bookmark, highlight and
annotate specific text, track billable time for each research session,
and exchange information with other subscribers in community forums.
Subscribers will access Books UnBound™ through the State
Bar’s website, Wisbar.org™, without the need for separate
software.
“Once you understand this new system, its remarkable power and
flexibility are obvious,” said Green Bay attorney Mark Pennow,
State Bar Secretary and member of the Board of Governors. Pennow, who
years ago envisioned a future with greater flexibility in choosing legal
research tools, has been an active participant in the development of
Books UnBound™.
Responding to a growing demand for online legal information, the
State Bar began developing Books UnBound™ more than a
decade ago. The features provide practitioners with more options when it
comes to online legal research. Often traditional research tools contain
transaction fees that may restrict one’s ability to press on from
one reference to another. Books Unbound™ contains no such
restrictions when it comes to linking to referenced materials within a
text. Thus, the program offers the flexibility to assess and tailor
research needs in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
For instance, practitioners can gain current online access to titles
such as Wisconsin Rules of Evidence, Wisconsin Employment
Law, Appellate Practice and Procedure in Wisconsin,
Insurance Law, and the Wisconsin Business Advisor
Series. A table of contents viewing pane allows users to pinpoint
the desired subject area or chapter. Links to cited material within the
text – a federal or state case, statute, or regulation –
take the researcher directly to that cited material through Fastcase, a
legal research database that is free to State Bar members.
The particulars of Fastcase were outlined in a 2008 Wisconsin
Lawyer article, which points out that firms can save money by
paring down subscriptions to Westlaw and LexisNexis in areas where
Fastcase can fill the void. Members can review Fastcase’s scope of
coverage to determine the types of materials that will link directly
from a title within Books Unbound™. Since the Fastcase
library is vast, Books UnBound™ subscribers will
automatically link to most references within a particular title.
Subscribers can choose to purchase individual titles, special
packages, or the whole library. Pricing is based on individual or
firm-wide subscriptions. Firm pricing is tiered based on the number of
lawyers in a firm. Sole practitioners can add support staff to the
account, and the firm-wide option allows access for all attorneys and
support staff.
The online library will not replace the State Bar’s full print
library, which contains other publications – like codebooks
– that may not be available through Books
UnBound™.
Members can view the list of currently available titles and preview
for free each title through the first chapter, including the table of
contents and other preface material. Access to the list of currently available titles is available on
Wisbar.org. The free preview will simply
require members and non-members to login
to the website.
By Joe Forward, Legal
Writer, State Bar of Wisconsin
