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
