LN has announced an agreement with OverDrive(R) ( www.overdrive.com ), aglobal distributor of eBooks and other digital content to libraries and schools, to create the LexisNexis(R) Digital Library.
Here’s everything and more that you need to know about this new e-book deal
LexisNexis Digital Library is an innovative new service that offers legal professionals access to the largest collection of authoritative legal eBook content on all major mobile devices and desktop platforms. It also enables organizations to share individual eBook titles among multiple users, purchase eBooks centrally and manage their library efficiently. With the service, organizations can significantly reduce the costs associated with storing, filing and distributing traditional print books.
“As today’s lawyers increasingly use tablets, smart phones and laptops as part of their everyday work, they need more flexible and cost-effective ways to use and share legal eBooks,” said Bob Romeo, CEO of Research & Litigation Solutions at LexisNexis(R) Legal & Professional. “Working with OverDrive, we’ve created LexisNexis Digital Library so our customers have quick mobile or desktop access to more trusted legal eBooks than any other source, along with the ability to economically expand and manage their library.”
The core of LexisNexis Digital Library is a website created by OverDrive and customized for each law firm or organization. A librarian or designated administrator serves as the manager of a virtual library, ordering titles and supervising lending of all electronic content. This arrangement is more efficient compared to each individual eBook user purchasing and managing his or her own digital content. Additionally, the site enables the administrator to generate detailed reports to better understand eBook usage patterns and to inform better digital content decisions for the firm or organization.
Legal professionals at organizations that have LexisNexis Digital Library access, check out and return titles via the primary website, a mobile-optimized version of the site or through a downloadable mobile application. In addition to simultaneous access to many titles for multiple users, users may also check out multiple copies of the same eBook depending on how many copies the library purchases. Additionally, each eBook title has a check out expiration deadline that automatically returns it to the library for use by others.
“We’re proud to work with LexisNexis and add law libraries to our growing network of more than 18,000 libraries worldwide,” said OverDrive CEO Steve Potash. “Our proven system and large, diverse catalog of eBooks will complement the LexisNexis offerings and become an asset to the legal community.”
Users of the LexisNexis Digital Library have access to the largest collection of eBooks for legal professionals. LexisNexis offers more than 1,100 electronic legal titles itself and, as a result of the agreement with OverDrive, LexisNexis customers also have access to and the ability to purchase more than 700,000 titles from OverDrive’s Content Reserve collection development portal, which offers a variety of subjects from business and technology to travel and language learning.
LexisNexis(R) eBooks are compatible with a wide variety of major devices, including Windows(R) PC, Mac(R), iPod(R), iPhone(R), iPad(R), Kindle(TM) (U.S. only), Sony(R) Reader, NOOK(TM), Android(TM), BlackBerry(R) and Windows(R) Phone. Similarly, LexisNexis Digital Library websites and mobile apps will work on all major devices. Additionally, because the new LexisNexis Digital Library is publisher agnostic, users can also add titles from other publishers and centrally manage their loan — eliminating the inefficiency of using multiple platforms or sites to manage an entire collection.
LexisNexis Digital Library is customized for each law firm, corporation or organization, with flexible licensing to fit the specific needs of each individual customer. The solution also offers significant cost savings by eliminating the cost of printed books and the need to replace books that users don’t return. Digital libraries also reduce the costs associated with the physical management and shelving of books.
More information about LexisNexis Digital Library is available here: www.lexisnexis.com/ebooks/lending .
