The Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship was signed by the Directors of twelve major University Law Libraries in February of 2009. In the statement,
they call for “all law schools to
stop publishing their journals in print format and to rely instead on
electronic publication coupled with a commitment to keep the electronic
versions available in stable, open, digital formats.”
What is open access? Last December, Sarah Glassmeyer
published an article called “Give Open a Chance in Law” in LLRX, Sabrina
Pacifici’s Web journal. Sarah says “Open means the material or tool is unencumbered by
legal and physical traits that inhibit its use by others.” It means we can find the law that we
are looking for. She goes on to discuss open access to primary law, scholarship
produced in the academic world, treatises and practice materials, and tools that
analyze or manipulate legal material. Her audience includes practicing attorneys and law professors.
What does this mean for
patrons of the Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries? It means that we all
need to be keeping our eyes and ears open to determine the best way to access legal
material as formats and access points change. Your librarian would be a good
person to ask about this. As for those law school journals that you used to
read in print, you will find better, if not exclusive, access in the electronic
world. For now, with your Trial Court Law Libraries Library Card, you can have
remote access to HeinOnline, which includes full text for nearly 1200 Journals.
