Oregon Legal Research Blog
Ken Svengalis, former Rhode Island State Law Librarian, is celebrating the publication of the 25th edition of his unique and invaluable buying guide:
“Legal Information Buyer’s Guide and Reference Manual” (2021 edition)
Purchasing and other information is at the New England Law Press website.
Here’s an excerpt from Ken’s announcement on the 2021 edition of the “Legal Information Buyer’s Guide”:
“.… As a law librarian for 45 years (Rhode Island State Law Librarian, now retired), I almost single-handedly revolutionized the way law librarians looked upon law library acquisitions. I have been providing legal information consumers with incisive, expert bibliographical and acquisitions counsel and advice for a quarter century. My Legal Information Buyer’s Guide and Reference Manual [LIBGRM] burst upon the scene at the height of the merger frenzy in 1996, providing candid and no-holds-barred advice about the practices of legal publishers and reviews of their titles, all combined with price and supplementation cost data, and cost-saving alerts. It’s the primary reason why I decided to self-publish, under the New England LawPress imprint, so I could be free to say what needed to be said on behalf of legal information consumers generally. I speak my mind, no matter how it may offend the sensibilities of the oligopolists.
The second edition of the Legal Information Buyer’s Guide and Reference Manual [LIBGRM] received the highest bibliographical award the American Association of Law Libraries can bestow: the Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award. In fact, it is the only Andrews Award winner in its history to become an annual publication, saving libraries millions of dollars in the process. Now in its 25th edition, it has grown in size and scope, totaling 1,215 pages in hardcover, and reviewing more than 4,000 legal titles, including over 3,000 legal treatises and monographs in 87 subject specialties. In 2019, I also added introductions to each subject specialty, providing an overview of the law, sources of law, and important websites for further information. These overviews are particularly valuable to the novice researcher. If you haven’t purchased the [LIBGRM for a few years, you will be pleasantly surprised by our recent improvements which add immeasurably to its utility as a research tool.
In 2019, I also published “A Layperson’s Guide to Legal Research and Self-Help Law Books,” which has filled a critical void for libraries serving students and the general public. It is the most useful guide to legal information sources aimed at a lay audience, providing reviews of nearly 800 self-help titles in 85 subject specialties, from administrative law to zoning. The second edition of this book will be out shortly. Together, these two books address both the professional/scholarly market and the broader public market of those seeking to avoid the high cost of legal services. There are no books on the market even remotely like them, and they will make invaluable and unique additions to your collection ….”
Note: A new edition (2021) of his equally unique and invaluable book “A Layperson’s Guide to Legal Research and Self-Help Law Books” will soon be available for purchase.)
Hat tip to Ken Svengalis and his New England Law Press.