Law Library Benchmarks, 2022-23 Edition

Law Library Benchmarks, 202223 Edition

Law libraries in Canada are significantly less likely that those in the USA to have largely or completely returned to pre-pandemic practices; 18.75% of libraries in the USA had completely returned to pre-pandemic practices vs. none in Canada while 28.13% of those in the USA had largely returned to pre-pandemic practices vs 18.18% of Canadian law libraries in the sample. This study presents detailed data and commentary on library plans and operations from 43 law libraries in the United States and Canada. The report gives detailed data on the extent to which librarians and professionals in their parent organizations are working from home, on the impact of the pandemic on the flow of traffic to the library, and on communications methods for relating to online library patrons and staff.

It looks closely at current and planned library budgets, with specific data sets for salaries, materials spending, spending on digital resources and spending on print resources. The study also emphasizes how law libraries are coping with the significant increases in inflation in the United States and Canada. The report also looks at plans for spending on many specific, major legal publishers, and at librarian views on new innovations in legal publishing, particularly the use of artificial intelligence.

Also covered in detail: plans for inperson conference attendance, plans for the law  journal collection, use of interlibrary loan, and the frequency of consulting with law librarians in other libraries for assistance and advice.