Laura Orr makes a good point regarding advertising on Law-Lib. While
most of us have a good sense of when an advertiser is abusing Law-Lib,
there are many instances when the information can be extremely valuable.
LOIS' posting a few months back was an excellent case in point. Here is
a company which is on the cutting edge of providing the major online
services with some much needed competition. It is definitely in our
best interest to encourage such competition as a means of forcing down
those high online charges. While some readers may feel the need to
flame the party or company involved based upon some unwritten code of
propriety, I am of the opinion that we should exercise discretion before
taking such action. If the practice is blatant and persistant, then, by
all means, turn on the flamethrowers. In the case of some small
publishers, however, a little more restraint is definitely in order.
There are some publishers, for example, who have performed yeoman
service both for the profession and lawbook consumers generally who
occasionally post to Law-Lib. Hyperlaw and Alert Publications both come
immediately to mind. Alan Sugarman (Hyperlaw) and Matthew Bender carried
the ball for the rest of the legal community in successfully challenging
West's hegemony over star pagination. His periodic postings, while they
could be construed as a form of advertising, have provided members of
the profession, and legal consumers in general, with critical
information regarding both the Thomson-West merger and the star
pagination litigation. The fact that Hyperlaw may get some commercial
exposure doesn't bother me a bit. Similarly, Donna Heroy, who publishes
the "Legal Information Alert" and "Legal Research Adviser" often brings
valuable information to the attention of Law-Lib readers. These people
should be encouraged.
Speaking as one who has also entered the publisher ranks myself, I have
scrupulously avoided using Law-Lib to announce my own product, even
though I incur significant advertising costs to reach the very people
who follow Law-Lib. I also get periodic calls at work from people
interested in ordering my book, many of which could have been avoided
had I simply posted a product announcement to Law-Lib.
Law-lib product announcements can also be used in conjunction with a
publisher's Web site. In this way, the posting can be brief and to the
point, while referring interested parties to the more complete product
description and ordering information at the Web site. Unless we
tolerate such announcements, we leave the field to the mega publishers
with the mega advertising dollars.
Having said that, I hope you will forgive my announcing that the 1997
edition of the "Legal Information Buyer's Guide and Reference Manual" is
scheduled to appear in April. I have received numerous calls from both
librarians and agents about the next edition and have been answering
each individually. At this point, anyone purchasing the 1996 edition
will receive the 1997 edition at no additional charge. I would also
like to ask any state contributors who have not yet submitted their copy
to please do so before February 10. Your assistance is most appreciated.
Kendall F. Svengalis
R.I. State Law Library
250 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903
401-277-3275
ristlaw@ids.net
and
R.I. LawPress
17 Mosher Drive
Barrington, RI 02806
FAX: 401-247-2163
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Nov 14 2007 - 20:49:30 PST