I hope it was clear to most readers that I was not complaining of mere lack
of currency between the CD and online. In the example I gave of the 1995
case reversed by a 1996 case, I was using the current 2001 CD. The reversal
simply was never picked up on the CD version.
Pamela M. Dempsey
Head Librarian
Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, P.A.
P.O. Box 1888
Albuquerque, NM 87103
Voice: (505) 768-7348
Fax: (505) 768-7395
pmdempse@rodey.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Graesser, Christine L. [mailto:cgraesser@brfg.com]
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2001 8:12 AM
To: 'Pam Dempsey'; Judy Helms; law-lib@ucdavis.edu
Subject: RE: Inconsistent coverage by Shepard's Citations on CD and Lexis.
com
Regardless of the vendor, researchers need to be wise to the ways of various
information media formats. When you consider the time span required to
produce a print product or a CD-ROM, it shouldn't be surprising that they
will not be as up to date as the online or web version. Of course the 1995
CD would not include references to a 1996 case. I wouldn't call these
errors, unless it's on the part of the researcher who assumes that a CD
dated 1995 is current to 2001.
Lexis/Shepards are not the only vendors who are bound by these limitations.
You will find the same gaps in the CD versions of Westlaw or LOISLAW.
Vendors should be up front about the difference in coverage, but librarians
are equally responsible for familiarizing themselves with these limitations,
which have been around for quite a few years now.
Chris Graesser, Chair
AALL Committee on Relations with Information Vendors
Brown Rudnick
Hartford, CT
-----Original Message-----
From: Pam Dempsey [mailto:pmdempse@rodey.com]
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2001 6:18 PM
To: Judy Helms; law-lib@ucdavis.edu
Subject: RE: Inconsistent coverage by Shepard's Citations on CD and Lexis.
com
Different "treatment" is bad enough, but I have found to my horror that in
several instances the substance of the report is just plain wrong (Shepard's
print/CD/Lexis may not agree as to subsequent history and/or treatment).
This is not merely a matter of the online version being more current. For
example, I checked a 1995 N.M. Court of Appeals case on the CD and the
report said there were "no citing references." In fact, the decision had
been reversed in 1996. Shepard's on Lexis.com had the correct information.
God knows what was in the print version. This is but one of several
examples that I have stumbled upon where there are serious errors in direct
or indirect history.
I do not have so charitable a reaction as yours to Lexis's response in
supplying a table. I'd like to know why "Shepard's" isn't "Shepard's" no
matter what format or medium (allowing, of course, for greater currency
online)! We have paid a great deal for a CD product that, it seems, simply
cannot be relied on. I too am investigating the cost of abandoning the CD
product in favor of online access. If we were to do that, I strongly
suspect that our online business would go elsewhere than Lexis.com. Rather
a shame that the venerable name of Shepard's, once the gold standard in
citators, has become so tarnished (in my mind, at least).
Pamela M. Dempsey
Head Librarian
Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, P.A.
P.O. Box 1888
Albuquerque, NM 87103
Voice: (505) 768-7348
Fax: (505) 768-7395
pmdempse@rodey.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Judy Helms [ mailto:Judy.Helms@co.travis.tx.us
<mailto:Judy.Helms@co.travis.tx.us> ]
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2001 3:08 PM
To: law-lib@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Re: Inconsistent coverage by Shepard's Citations on CD and
Lexis.com
I was surprised and disturbed to learn this week that a case's treatment
by Shepard's on CD-ROM may differ significantly from its treatment by
Lexis.com Shepard's. For example, 777 F. Supp. 445 shows a green light on
the CD. The same case Shepardized on Lexis.com shows a red stop sign.
This disturbed me so much that I chose 35 cases at random and compared
their treatment by the two products. Of the 35 cases, 5 showed differing
treatment. This is 14% of the cases!
Lexis confirmed that, yes, there are differences, and supplied me with a
table describing the differences in detail. Their prompt response and
helpfulness impressed me. It showed excellent customer service by Lexis.
As a result of this, my manager is crunching numbers to determine if she
can replace the CD's with Lexis.com passwords.
If you want a list of the cases I searched or a copy of the table Lexis
sent me, you can email me directly at judy.helms@co.travis.tx.us.
Judy Helms
Ref. Librarian
Travis County Law Library
Austin, Texas 78701
(512)473-9045
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