Survey of Law Library Plans for Print Materials Collections

Primary Research Group is a New York-based publisher of research reports and surveys about universities, libraries, law firms, hospitals, museums, and other institutions and law libraries in particular could learn a lot from their publications.

The group’s reports tend to gather information from a wide variety of library types, both in the United States and Canada, and on topics such as staffing levels, the use of artificial intelligence, database licensing trends, spending on e-content, views of library services by law faculty members, and much more.

Their most recent publication is the Survey of Law Library Plans for the Print Materials Collection, 2022 Edition ($155.00 US):

“This study presents data from 28 major law libraries about their plans for their print materials collection. Data is broken out separately for university, small law firm, large law firm, government and courthouse law libraries, as well as for law libraries in Canada and in the United States, and by library law library staff size. Law library directors from many eminent law firms, schools and court and other government law libraries comment on their plans for print subscriptions to journals, books, directories, loose-leaf services, magazine and newspapers and other print information vehicles. In addition to extensive commentary the report gives detailed data on overall print budget spending, spending on particular forms (books, journals, etc.) and data on the future of print separately for primary and secondary legal information and non-legal information. The study also looks at the impact of the pandemic on law library thinking and planning for print materials.”

“Just a few of the 111-page report’s many findings are that:

• The Canadian law libraries in the sample vastly outspent the US ones on print materials.
• Libraries headed by individuals under age 60 spent far less on print materials than those headed by individuals over age 60.
• Collection culling of print materials was slightly higher in the USA than in Canada.”