Law library use of amazon

LAW LIBRARY USE OF AMAZON

ISBN 978-1-57740-551-4 ©2018 Primary Research Group Inc.


Law Library Use of Amazon

2|Page


Law Library Use of Amazon

Table of Contents
LAW LIBRARY USE OF AMAZON .................................................................................................................... 1
THE QUESTIONNAIRE.......................................................................................................................................... 14
PARTICIPANTS LIST ......................................................................................................................................... 18
Characteristics of the Sample ........................................................................................................................ 19
SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS .................................................................................................................... 20
Purchases of Microfilm & Related Supplies from Amazon ............................................................ 20
Purchases of Archival Supplies from Amazon ................................................................................... 20
Purchases of eBooks, Overall Purchase Volume and Percentage from Amazon .................. 20
Spending on Audiobooks, Overall and Percentage from Amazon .............................................. 21
Purchase of Library Shelving and Furniture from Amazon .......................................................... 21
Purchases of Videos Through Amazon ................................................................................................. 21
Purchases of Computer and Printer Supplies from Amazon ........................................................ 21
Purchases of Laptops, Desktops and other Computing Devices from Amazon .................... 22
Purchases of Software from Amazon .................................................................................................... 22
Purchases of Photocopiers and Related Supplies from Amazon ................................................ 22
Purchases of Online Courses from Amazon ........................................................................................ 22
Purchases of CD’s, Vinyl Records, and other Music Mediums from Amazon ......................... 23
Purchases of Mobile Computing Recharging Terminals & Nodes .............................................. 23

Purchases of Bates Stamping Equipment from Amazon................................................................ 23
Spending on and Percentage of Purchases of Legal & Other Scholarly Journals from
Amazon ............................................................................................................................................................. 23
Use of Amazon Cloud Services for Web Hosting, Web Storage and other Applications .... 24
Law Library Spending on Print Books in the 2017-18, and 2018-19 Academic or Fiscal
Years................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Percentage of Book Purchases Through Aggregators and Percentage Purchased Directly
from Publishers ............................................................................................................................................. 25
Percentage of Law Firm Book Purchases from Aggregators Accounted for by Midwest
Library Services ............................................................................................................................................. 25
Percentage of Law Firm Book Purchases from Aggregators Accounted for by Gobi Library
Services ............................................................................................................................................................. 25
Percentage of Law Firm Book Purchases from Aggregators Accounted for by
Coutts/Ingram ................................................................................................................................................ 26
Percentage of Law Firm Book Purchases from Aggregators Accounted for by Amazon .. 26
Percentage of Law Firm Book Purchases from Aggregators Accounted for by Barnes &
Noble .................................................................................................................................................................. 26
Percentage of Law Firm Book Purchases from Aggregators Accounted for by Baker &
Taylor ................................................................................................................................................................. 26
Law Library Expectations for Book Purchasing Over the Next Few Years ............................. 27
Spending on Directories and Share of Such Spending Through Amazon ................................ 27
Percentage of Purchases of Computer Paper, Legal Pads, Pens, Files and Folders and
Other Basic Office Supplies Accounted for by Amazon .................................................................. 27
Law Library Spending for Magazines and Percentage Accounted for by Amazon .............. 28
Table 1 To the best or your knowledge, has your library purchased any of the following
from Amazon over the past five years? ..................................................................................................... 29
Table 1.1.1 Has your library purchased a microfilm scanner or reader from Amazon over
the past five years? ....................................................................................................................................... 29
Table 1.1.2 Has your library purchased a microfilm scanner or reader from Amazon over
the past five years? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees

.............................................................................................................................................................................. 29
3|Page


Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 1.1.3 Has your library purchased a microfilm scanner or reader from Amazon over
the past five years? Broken out by type of law library ................................................................... 29
Table 1.1.4 Has your library purchased a microfilm scanner or reader from Amazon over
the past five years? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account 30
Table 1.2.1 Has your library purchased microfilm supplies from Amazon over the past
five years? ........................................................................................................................................................ 30
Table 1.2.2 Has your library purchased microfilm supplies from Amazon over the past
five years? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees .............. 30
Table 1.2.3 Has your library purchased microfilm supplies from Amazon over the past
five years? Broken out by type of law library .................................................................................... 30
Table 1.2.4 Has your library purchased microfilm supplies from Amazon over the past
five years? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ................ 31
Table 1.3.1 Has your library purchased archival boxes, files, tissue, boards, slides, albums
or other similar equipment from Amazon over the past five years? ........................................ 31
Table 1.3.2 Has your library purchased archival boxes, files, tissue, boards, slides, albums
or other similar equipment from Amazon over the past five years? Broken out by the
number of full time equivalent library employees .......................................................................... 31
Table 1.3.3 Has your library purchased archival boxes, files, tissue, boards, slides, albums
or other similar equipment from Amazon over the past five years? Broken out by type of
law library ........................................................................................................................................................ 31
Table 1.3.4 Has your library purchased archival boxes, files, tissue, boards, slides, albums
or other similar equipment from Amazon over the past five years? Broken out for
libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ...................................................................... 32
Table 1.4.1 Has your library purchased tapes, glues, Velcro and other fasteners and
binding agents from Amazon over the past five years? ................................................................. 32

Table 1.4.2 Has your library purchased tapes, glues, Velcro and other fasteners and
binding agents from Amazon over the past five years? Broken out by the number of full
time equivalent library employees ........................................................................................................ 32
Table 1.4.3 Has your library purchased tapes, glues, Velcro and other fasteners and
binding agents from Amazon over the past five years? Broken out by type of law library
.............................................................................................................................................................................. 32
Table 1.4.4 Has your library purchased tapes, glues, Velcro and other fasteners and
binding agents from Amazon over the past five years? Broken out for libraries with or
without an Amazon Prime account ........................................................................................................ 33
Table 2.1 How much did the library spend (in US$) on eBooks in the past year? (not
including spending on licenses for major services such as West or Lexis) ................................. 34
Table 2.2 How much did the library spend (in US$) on eBooks in the past year? (not
including spending on licenses for major services such as West or Lexis) Broken out by the
number of full time equivalent library employees ............................................................................... 34
Table 2.3 How much did the library spend (in US$) on eBooks in the past year? (not
including spending on licenses for major services such as West or Lexis) Broken out by
type of law library ............................................................................................................................................. 34
Table 2.4 How much did the library spend (in US$) on eBooks in the past year? (not
including spending on licenses for major services such as West or Lexis) Broken out for
libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ........................................................................... 35
Table 3.1 What percentage of the library's total spending for eBooks was accounted for by
purchases from Amazon? ............................................................................................................................... 36
Table 3.2 What percentage of the library's total spending for eBooks was accounted for by
purchases from Amazon? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library
employees ............................................................................................................................................................. 36
4|Page


Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 3.3 What percentage of the library's total spending for eBooks was accounted for by

purchases from Amazon? Broken out by type of law library ........................................................... 36
Table 3.4 What percentage of the library's total spending for eBooks was accounted for by
purchases from Amazon? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime
account ................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Table 4.1 How much did the library spend (in US$) on audiobooks in the past year? ........... 38
Table 4.2 How much did the library spend (in US$) on audiobooks in the past year? Broken
out by the number of full time equivalent library employees .......................................................... 38
Table 4.3 How much did the library spend (in US$) on audiobooks in the past year? Broken
out by type of law library................................................................................................................................ 38
Table 4.4 How much did the library spend (in US$) on audiobooks in the past year? Broken
out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ............................................................ 39
Table 5.1 What percentage of the library's spending on audiobooks in the past year was
accounted for by spending through Amazon? ........................................................................................ 40
Table 5.2 What percentage of the library's spending on audiobooks in the past year was
accounted for by spending through Amazon? Broken out by the number of full time
equivalent library employees ....................................................................................................................... 40
Table 5.3 What percentage of the library's spending on audiobooks in the past year was
accounted for by spending through Amazon? Broken out by type of law library .................... 40
Table 5.4 What percentage of the library's spending on audiobooks in the past year was
accounted for by spending through Amazon? Broken out for libraries with or without an
Amazon Prime account .................................................................................................................................... 41
Table 6 To the best of your knowledge has your library purchased any of the following
through Amazon in the past year? .............................................................................................................. 42
Table 6.1.1 Has your library purchased library shelving or furniture through Amazon in
the past year? .................................................................................................................................................. 42
Table 6.1.2 Has your library purchased library shelving or furniture through Amazon in
the past year? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ........ 42
Table 6.1.3 Has your library purchased library shelving or furniture through Amazon in
the past year? Broken out by type of law library.............................................................................. 42
Table 6.1.4 Has your library purchased library shelving or furniture through Amazon in

the past year? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account .......... 42
Table 6.2.1 Has your library purchased videos through Amazon in the past year? ........... 43
Table 6.2.2 Has your library purchased videos through Amazon in the past year? Broken
out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ..................................................... 43
Table 6.2.3 Has your library purchased videos through Amazon in the past year? Broken
out by type of law library ........................................................................................................................... 43
Table 6.2.4 Has your library purchased videos through Amazon in the past year? Broken
out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ....................................................... 43
Table 6.3.1 Has your library purchased computer or printer supplies through Amazon in
the past year? .................................................................................................................................................. 43
Table 6.3.2 Has your library purchased computer or printer supplies through Amazon in
the past year? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ........ 44
Table 6.3.3 Has your library purchased computer or printer supplies through Amazon in
the past year? Broken out by type of law library.............................................................................. 44
Table 6.3.4 Has your library purchased computer or printer supplies through Amazon in
the past year? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account .......... 44
Table 6.4.1 Has your library purchased tablets, laptops, desktops or other computing
devices through Amazon in the past year? ......................................................................................... 44
5|Page


Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 6.4.2 Has your library purchased tablets, laptops, desktops or other computing
devices through Amazon in the past year? Broken out by the number of full time
equivalent library employees ................................................................................................................... 45
Table 6.4.3 Has your library purchased tablets, laptops, desktops or other computing
devices through Amazon in the past year? Broken out by type of law library ..................... 45
Table 6.4.4 Has your library purchased tablets, laptops, desktops or other computing
devices through Amazon in the past year? Broken out for libraries with or without an
Amazon Prime account ............................................................................................................................... 45

Table 6.5.1 Has your library purchased software through Amazon in the past year? ....... 45
Table 6.5.2 Has your library purchased software through Amazon in the past year?
Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ..................................... 46
Table 6.5.3 Has your library purchased software through Amazon in the past year?
Broken out by type of law library ........................................................................................................... 46
Table 6.5.4 Has your library purchased software through Amazon in the past year?
Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ....................................... 46
Table 6.6.1 Has your library purchased photocopiers through Amazon in the past year?
.............................................................................................................................................................................. 46
Table 6.6.2 Has your library purchased photocopiers through Amazon in the past year?
Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ..................................... 47
Table 6.6.3 Has your library purchased photocopiers through Amazon in the past year?
Broken out by type of law library ........................................................................................................... 47
Table 6.6.4 Has your library purchased photocopiers through Amazon in the past year?
Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ....................................... 47
Table 6.7.1 Has your library purchased photocopy Ink or other supplies through Amazon
in the past year?............................................................................................................................................. 47
Table 6.7.2 Has your library purchased photocopy Ink or other supplies through Amazon
in the past year? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ... 48
Table 6.7.3 Has your library purchased photocopy Ink or other supplies through Amazon
in the past year? Broken out by type of law library ........................................................................ 48
Table 6.7.4 Has your library purchased photocopy Ink or other supplies through Amazon
in the past year? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ..... 48
Table 6.8.1 Has your library purchased online courses through Amazon in the past year?
.............................................................................................................................................................................. 48
Table 6.8.2 Has your library purchased online courses through Amazon in the past year?
Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ..................................... 49
Table 6.8.3 Has your library purchased online courses through Amazon in the past year?
Broken out by type of law library ........................................................................................................... 49
Table 6.8.4 Has your library purchased online courses through Amazon in the past year?

Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ....................................... 49
Table 6.9.1 Has your library purchased CD/vinyl or other music medium through
Amazon in the past year? ........................................................................................................................... 49
Table 6.9.2 Has your library purchased CD/vinyl or other music medium through
Amazon in the past year? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library
employees ........................................................................................................................................................ 50
Table 6.9.3 Has your library purchased CD/vinyl or other music medium through
Amazon in the past year? Broken out by type of law library ....................................................... 50
Table 6.9.4 Has your library purchased CD/vinyl or other music medium through
Amazon in the past year? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime
account .............................................................................................................................................................. 50
6|Page


Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 6.10.1 Has your library purchased wireless access equipment through Amazon in
the past year? .................................................................................................................................................. 50
Table 6.10.2 Has your library purchased wireless access equipment through Amazon in
the past year? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ........ 51
Table 6.10.3 Has your library purchased wireless access equipment through Amazon in
the past year? Broken out by type of law library.............................................................................. 51
Table 6.10.4 Has your library purchased wireless access equipment through Amazon in
the past year? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account .......... 51
Table 6.11.1 Has your library purchased mobile computing recharging terminals, nodes
or other means or materials for recharging through Amazon in the past year? .................. 51
Table 6.11.2 Has your library purchased mobile computing recharging terminals, nodes
or other means or materials for recharging through Amazon in the past year? Broken out
by the number of full time equivalent library employees ............................................................. 52
Table 6.11.3 Has your library purchased mobile computing recharging terminals, nodes
or other means or materials for recharging through Amazon in the past year? Broken out

by type of law library ................................................................................................................................... 52
Table 6.11.4 Has your library purchased mobile computing recharging terminals, nodes
or other means or materials for recharging through Amazon in the past year? Broken out
for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ............................................................... 52
Table 6.12.1 Has your library purchased bates stamping equipment or supplies through
Amazon in the past year? ........................................................................................................................... 52
Table 6.12.2 Has your library purchased bates stamping equipment or supplies through
Amazon in the past year? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library
employees ........................................................................................................................................................ 53
Table 6.12.3 Has your library purchased bates stamping equipment or supplies through
Amazon in the past year? Broken out by type of law library ....................................................... 53
Table 6.12.4 Has your library purchased bates stamping equipment or supplies through
Amazon in the past year? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime
account .............................................................................................................................................................. 53
Table 6.13.1 Has your library purchased exhibit indexes or tabs through Amazon in the
past year? ......................................................................................................................................................... 53
Table 7.1 How much did the library spend (in US$) on legal and other scholarly and
professional journals in the past year? (exclude spending on magazines, directories and
other periodicals that are not scholarly or professional journals) ................................................ 54
Table 7.2 How much did the library spend (in US$) on legal and other scholarly and
professional journals in the past year? (exclude spending on magazines, directories and
other periodicals that are not scholarly or professional journals) Broken out by the number
of full time equivalent library employees ................................................................................................ 54
Table 7.3 How much did the library spend (in US$) on legal and other scholarly and
professional journals in the past year? (exclude spending on magazines, directories and
other periodicals that are not scholarly or professional journals) Broken out by type of law
library ..................................................................................................................................................................... 55
Table 7.4 How much did the library spend (in US$) on legal and other scholarly and
professional journals in the past year? (exclude spending on magazines, directories and
other periodicals that are not scholarly or professional journals) Broken out for libraries

with or without an Amazon Prime account ............................................................................................. 55
Table 8.1 What percentage of the library 's spending on legal and other scholarly and
professional journals in the past year was through Amazon? ......................................................... 56

7|Page


Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 8.2 What percentage of the library 's spending on legal and other scholarly and
professional journals in the past year was through Amazon? Broken out by the number of
full time equivalent library employees ..................................................................................................... 56
Table 8.3 What percentage of the library 's spending on legal and other scholarly and
professional journals in the past year was through Amazon? Broken out by type of law
library ..................................................................................................................................................................... 56
Table 8.4 What percentage of the library 's spending on legal and other scholarly and
professional journals in the past year was through Amazon? Broken out for libraries with
or without an Amazon Prime account ....................................................................................................... 57
Table 9 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon Services for any
of the following? ................................................................................................................................................. 58
Table 9.1.1 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for website hosting? ................................................................................................................... 58
Table 9.2.1 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for cloud storage and back up? .............................................................................................. 58
Table 9.3.1 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for crowdsourcing or outsourcing tasks? .......................................................................... 58
Table 9.4.1 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for databases or other applications? ................................................................................... 58
Table 9.4.2 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for databases or other applications? Broken out by the number of full time
equivalent library employees ................................................................................................................... 58

Table 9.4.3 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for databases or other applications? Broken out by type of law library ............... 59
Table 9.4.4 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for databases or other applications? Broken out for libraries with or without an
Amazon Prime account ............................................................................................................................... 59
Table 9.5.1 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for content delivery to clients, collaborators or staff? .................................................. 59
Table 9.5.2 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for content delivery to clients, collaborators or staff? Broken out by the number
of full time equivalent library employees ............................................................................................ 59
Table 9.5.3 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for content delivery to clients, collaborators or staff? Broken out by type of law
library ................................................................................................................................................................ 60
Table 9.5.4 Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon
Services for content delivery to clients, collaborators or staff? Broken out for libraries
with or without an Amazon Prime account ........................................................................................ 60
Table 10 What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books for
each of the following years? .......................................................................................................................... 61
Table 10.1.1 What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books
in 2017-18 academic or fiscal year? ...................................................................................................... 61
Table 10.1.2 What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books
in 2017-18 academic or fiscal year? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent
library employees ......................................................................................................................................... 61
Table 10.1.3 What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books
in 2017-18 academic or fiscal year? Broken out by type of law library .................................. 61
Table 10.1.4 What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books
in 2017-18 academic or fiscal year? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon
Prime account ................................................................................................................................................. 62
8|Page

Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 10.2.1 What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books
in 2018-19 academic or fiscal year (anticipated)? ........................................................................... 62
Table 10.2.2 What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books
in 2018-19 academic or fiscal year (anticipated)? Broken out by the number of full time
equivalent library employees ................................................................................................................... 62
Table 10.2.3 What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books
in 2018-19 academic or fiscal year (anticipated)? Broken out by type of law library....... 63
Table 10.2.4 What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books
in 2018-19 academic or fiscal year (anticipated)? Broken out for libraries with or
without an Amazon Prime account ........................................................................................................ 63
Table 11 About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly with law
book publishers that only or predominantly offer their own books for sale vs aggregators
such as Amazon, Hein, YBP, Barnes and Noble and others that offer books from many
publishers? ........................................................................................................................................................... 64
Table 11.1.1 About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly
with law book publishers that only or predominantly offer their own books for sale? .... 64
Table 11.1.2 About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly
with law book publishers that only or predominantly offer their own books for sale?
Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ..................................... 64
Table 11.1.3 About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly
with law book publishers that only or predominantly offer their own books for sale?
Broken out by type of law library ........................................................................................................... 64
Table 11.1.4 About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly
with law book publishers that only or predominantly offer their own books for sale?
Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ....................................... 65
Table 11.2.1 About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly with
aggregators such as Amazon, Hein, YBP, Barnes and Noble and others that offer books
from many publishers? ............................................................................................................................... 65

Table 11.2.2 About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly with
aggregators such as Amazon, Hein, YBP, Barnes and Noble and others that offer books
from many publishers? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library
employees ........................................................................................................................................................ 65
Table 11.2.3 About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly with
aggregators such as Amazon, Hein, YBP, Barnes and Noble and others that offer books
from many publishers? Broken out by type of law library ........................................................... 66
Table 11.2.4 About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly with
aggregators such as Amazon, Hein, YBP, Barnes and Noble and others that offer books
from many publishers? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime
account .............................................................................................................................................................. 66
Table 12 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators in the
past year were accounted for by purchases through or from any of the following venues (if
none for a particular venue put in "0") The answers here should be a percentage and add to
100%. Exclude from your estimate books purchased directly from publishers such as BNA,
Lexis/Nexis, West and others. ...................................................................................................................... 67
Table 12.1.1 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Hein? ............................ 67
Table 12.1.2 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Hein? Broken out by
the number of full time equivalent library employees ................................................................... 67
9|Page


Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 12.1.3 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Hein? Broken out by
type of law library ......................................................................................................................................... 68
Table 12.1.4 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Hein? Broken out for

libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ...................................................................... 68
Table 12.2.1 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Midwest Library
Services? ........................................................................................................................................................... 68
Table 12.2.2 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Midwest Library
Services? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ................. 69
Table 12.2.3 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Midwest Library
Services? Broken out by type of law library ....................................................................................... 69
Table 12.2.4 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Midwest Library
Services? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ................... 69
Table 12.3.1 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Gobi Library Services?
.............................................................................................................................................................................. 70
Table 12.3.2 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Gobi Library Services?
Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ..................................... 70
Table 12.3.3 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Gobi Library Services?
Broken out by type of law library ........................................................................................................... 70
Table 12.3.4 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Gobi Library Services?
Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ....................................... 71
Table 12.4.1 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from
ProQuest/Coutts/Ingram? ........................................................................................................................ 71
Table 12.4.2 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from

ProQuest/Coutts/Ingram? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library
employees ........................................................................................................................................................ 71
Table 12.4.3 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from
ProQuest/Coutts/Ingram? Broken out by type of law library .................................................... 72
Table 12.4.4 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from
ProQuest/Coutts/Ingram? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime
account .............................................................................................................................................................. 72
Table 12.5.1 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Amazon? ..................... 72
Table 12.5.2 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Amazon? Broken out
by the number of full time equivalent library employees ............................................................. 73
10 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 12.5.3 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Amazon? Broken out
by type of law library ................................................................................................................................... 73
Table 12.5.4 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Amazon? Broken out
for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ............................................................... 73
Table 12.6.1 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Barnes and Noble? .. 74
Table 12.6.2 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Barnes and Noble?
Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ..................................... 74
Table 12.6.3 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators

in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Barnes and Noble?
Broken out by type of law library ........................................................................................................... 74
Table 12.6.4 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Barnes and Noble?
Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ....................................... 75
Table 12.7.1 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Baker and Taylor? .. 75
Table 12.7.2 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Baker and Taylor?
Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ..................................... 75
Table 12.7.3 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Baker and Taylor?
Broken out by type of law library ........................................................................................................... 76
Table 12.7.4 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from Baker and Taylor?
Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ....................................... 76
Table 12.8.1 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from all other?..................... 76
Table 12.8.2 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from all other? Broken out
by the number of full time equivalent library employees ............................................................. 77
Table 12.8.3 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from all other? Broken out
by type of law library ................................................................................................................................... 77
Table 12.8.4 Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators
in the past year were accounted for by purchases through or from all other? Broken out
for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ............................................................... 77
Please list any other suppliers that account for more than 1% of your print book
acquisitions that were not listed above. Broken out by type of law library ............................... 78
How has Amazon impacted your book purchasing practices at your library over the past

three years? Broken out by type of law library ...................................................................................... 79
Table 13.1 Do you expect that over the next few years, your library will obtain about the
same percentage of its books from Amazon, an increased percentage or a decreased
percentage? .......................................................................................................................................................... 81
Table 13.2 Do you expect that over the next few years, your library will obtain about the
same percentage of its books from Amazon, an increased percentage or a decreased
percentage? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees ................ 81
11 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 13.3 Do you expect that over the next few years, your library will obtain about the
same percentage of its books from Amazon, an increased percentage or a decreased
percentage? Broken out by type of law library ...................................................................................... 82
Table 13.4 Do you expect that over the next few years, your library will obtain about the
same percentage of its books from Amazon, an increased percentage or a decreased
percentage? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account .................. 82
If your library uses Amazon for print book acquisitions does it use it for particular types of
books or other acquisitions and not for others? Or in certain circumstances and not in
others? If so, explain. Broken out by type of law library ................................................................... 83
Table 14.1 How much did your library spend (in US$) on law and other directories in the
past year? .............................................................................................................................................................. 85
Table 14.2 How much did your library spend (in US$) on law and other directories in the
past year? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library employees .................... 85
Table 14.3 How much did your library spend (in US$) on law and other directories in the
past year? Broken out by type of law library .......................................................................................... 85
Table 14.4 How much did your library spend (in US$) on law and other directories in the
past year? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime account ...................... 86
Table 15.1 What percentage of the library's directory purchases or rentals by dollar volume
in the past year were accounted for by purchases from Amazon? ................................................. 87

Table 15.2 What percentage of the library's directory purchases or rentals by dollar volume
in the past year were accounted for by purchases from Amazon? Broken out by the number
of full time equivalent library employees ................................................................................................ 87
Table 15.3 What percentage of the library's directory purchases or rentals by dollar volume
in the past year were accounted for by purchases from Amazon? Broken out by type of law
library ..................................................................................................................................................................... 87
Table 15.4 What percentage of the library's directory purchases or rentals by dollar volume
in the past year were accounted for by purchases from Amazon? Broken out for libraries
with or without an Amazon Prime account ............................................................................................. 88
Table 16.1 In the past year, about what percentage of the computer paper, legal pads, pens,
files and folders and other basic office supplies purchased by the library would you say
were purchased from Amazon? ................................................................................................................... 89
Table 16.2 In the past year, about what percentage of the computer paper, legal pads, pens,
files and folders and other basic office supplies purchased by the library would you say
were purchased from Amazon? Broken out by the number of full time equivalent library
employees ............................................................................................................................................................. 89
Table 16.3 In the past year, about what percentage of the computer paper, legal pads, pens,
files and folders and other basic office supplies purchased by the library would you say
were purchased from Amazon? Broken out by type of law library ............................................... 90
Table 16.4 In the past year, about what percentage of the computer paper, legal pads, pens,
files and folders and other basic office supplies purchased by the library would you say
were purchased from Amazon? Broken out for libraries with or without an Amazon Prime
account ................................................................................................................................................................... 90
Table 17.1 How much did the library spend (in US$) on subscriptions to magazines in the
past year? (exclude spending on academic and scholarly journals) .............................................. 91
Table 17.2 How much did the library spend (in US$) on subscriptions to magazines in the
past year? (exclude spending on academic and scholarly journals) Broken out by the
number of full time equivalent library employees ............................................................................... 91
Table 17.3 How much did the library spend (in US$) on subscriptions to magazines in the
past year? (exclude spending on academic and scholarly journals) Broken out by type of

law library............................................................................................................................................................. 91
12 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon
Table 17.4 How much did the library spend (in US$) on subscriptions to magazines in the
past year? (exclude spending on academic and scholarly journals) Broken out for libraries
with or without an Amazon Prime account ............................................................................................. 92
Table 18.1 How much of the library's spending (in US$) on magazines in the past year,
including subscriptions, was accounted for by purchases through Amazon? ........................... 93
What else does the library purchase from Amazon that you have not noted in prior
answers? Broken out by type of law library............................................................................................ 94
What advice can you offer your peers about how your library can benefit (or not) from
Amazon? Broken out by type of law library ............................................................................................ 95

13 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon

THE QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Please enter your personal contact details
A.
B.
C.
D.

Name
Institution
Work Title

Email Address

2. How many full time equivalent employees does your library have? (including
student employees)
3. Which of the following best describes your law library?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.

University law library
Law Firm Library
Courthouse Law Library
Government Law Library
Private Company/Association Law Library (non-law firm)
Other (please specify)

4. To the best or your knowledge, has your library purchased any of the following
from Amazon over the past five years?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Microfilm Scanner or Reader
Microfilm Supplies
Archival Boxes, Files, Tissue, Boards, Slides, Albums or other similar equipment
Tapes, Glues, Velcro and other Fasteners and Binding Agents

5. How much did the library spend on eBooks in the past year? (not including
spending on licenses for major services such as West or Lexis)
6. What percentage of the library's total spending for eBooks was accounted for by
purchases from Amazon?
7. How much did the library spend on audiobooks in the past year?
8. What percentage of the library's spending on audiobooks in the past year was
accounted for by spending through Amazon?

14 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon
9. To the best of your knowledge has your library purchased any of the following
through Amazon in the past year?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.

Library Shelving or Furniture
Videos
Computer or Printer Supplies

Tablets, Laptops, Desktops or other computing devices
Software
Photocopiers
Photocopy Ink or other Supplies
Online Courses
CD/vinyl or other music medium
Wireless Access Equipment
Mobile computing recharging terminals, nodes or other means or materials for
recharging
L. Bates Stamping Equipment or Supplies
M. Exhibit Indexes or Tabs
10. How much did the library spend on legal and other scholarly and professional
journals in the past year? (exclude spending on magazines, directories and other
periodicals that are not scholarly or professional journals)
11. What percentage of the library 's spending on legal and other scholarly and
professional journals in the past year was through Amazon?
12. Does the law library use Amazon Cloud Services or other Amazon Services for any
of the following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Website hosting
Cloud Storage and Back up
Crowdsourcing or Outsourcing Tasks
Databases or other Applications
Content Delivery to Clients, Collaborators or Staff

13. What was the library's approximate total spending on print books for each of the
following years?
A.
B.

15 | P a g e

2017-18 academic or fiscal year
2018-19 academic or fiscal year (anticipated)


Law Library Use of Amazon
14. About what percentage of your law book spending is placed directly with law book
publishers that only or predominantly offer their own books for sale vs aggregators
such as Amazon, Hein, YBP, Barnes & Noble and others that offer books from many
publishers?
A.
B.

Percentage Direct from Publishers
Percentage from Aggregators

15. Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators in the
past year were accounted for by purchases through or from any of the following
venues (if none for a particular venue put in "0") The answers here should be a
percentage and add to 100%. Exclude from your estimate books purchased directly
from publishers such as BNA, Lexis/Nexis, West and others.
A.
B.
C.

D.
E.
F.
G.
H.

Hein
Midwest Library Services
Gobi Library Services
ProQuest/Coutts/Ingram
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Baker & Taylor
All Other

16. Please list any other suppliers that account for more than 1% of your print book
acquisitions that were not listed above.
17. How has Amazon impacted your book purchasing practices at your library over the
past three years?
18. Do you expect that over the next few years, your library will obtain about the same
percentage of its books from Amazon, an increased percentage or a decreased
percentage?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

16 | P a g e

A much decreased percentage
A decreased percentage
About the same percentage
An increased percentage
A much increased percentage


Law Library Use of Amazon
19. Does your library have an Amazon Prime account?
A.
B.

Yes
No

20. If your library uses Amazon for print book acquisitions does it use it for particular
types of books or other acquisitions and not for others? Or in certain circumstances
and not in others? If so, explain.
21. How much did your library spend on law and other directories in the past year?
22. What percentage of the library's directory purchases or rentals by dollar volume in
the past year were accounted for by purchases from Amazon?
23. In the past year, about what percentage of the computer paper, legal pads, pens,
files and folders and other basic office supplies purchased by the library would you
say were purchased from Amazon?
24. How much did the library spend on subscriptions to magazines in the past year?
(exclude spending on academic & scholarly journals)
25. How much of the library's spending on magazines in the past year, including
subscriptions, was accounted for by purchases through Amazon?
26. What else does the library purchase from Amazon that you have not noted in prior
answers?

27. What advice can you offer your peers about how your library can benefit (or not)
from Amazon?

17 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon

PARTICIPANTS LIST
Baker Botts LLP
Barack Ferrazzano
Barclay Damon LLP
Chapman and Cutler
Clermont County Law Library
Collin College
Cooper, White and Cooper LLP
Delaware Law School Library
Dougherty County Law Library
Downey Brand LLP
Drake Law Library
Drinker Biddle and Reath LLP
Elon University School of Law
GGU Law Library
Gilbert's LLP
Goulston and Storrs PC
Indiana University Jerome Hall Law Library
Kegler Brown Hill + Ritter
KKBL
Lehigh County Law Library
McCaughtry and Associates, Inc.

McLane Middleton
National Judicial Institute
Parker Poe
Paul Hastings
Sacramento County Law Library
San Mateo County Law Library
SBCLL
Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP
Snell and Wilmer
State Law Library of Mississippi
State Law Library of Montana
Thompson Rivers University
UCLA Law Library
UNH School of Law
University of Nebraska
University of New Mexico Law Library

18 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon

Characteristics of the Sample
How many full time equivalent employees does your library have? (including student
employees)

Less than 2
2-4
5-10
More than 10

Total

#
9
10
11
9
39

Which of the following best describes your law library?

University law library
Law Firm Library
Courthouse Law Library
Other
Total

#
11
17
4
7
39

Does your library have an Amazon Prime account?

Yes
No
Total

19 | P a g e

#
10
29
39


Law Library Use of Amazon

SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS

Purchases of Microfilm & Related Supplies from Amazon
We asked: whether or not the library has purchased from Amazon any of a range of items
over the past five years. First, we asked about microfilm scanners or readers; only 2.56%
of the libraries surveyed had purchased one of these in the allotted time period. The same
percentage – 2.56% -- had purchased microfilm supplies in this time period.

Purchases of Archival Supplies from Amazon
Next, we asked about archival supplies such as archival boxes, files, tissues, boards, slides,
albums and other similar equipment. 10.26% of those surveyed had purchased any of
these items from Amazon over the past five years; law libraries in the “other category”
mostly state law libraries were the most likely to have made this kind of purchase –
28.57% had done so. More than 20% of the law libraries with an Amazon Prime account
had purchased some of these items from Amazon over the past five years.
Purchases of Tapes, Glues, Velcro and Other Fasteners & Binding Agents from Amazon
Next, we asked about tapes, glues, Velcro and other fasteners and binding agents. 23.08%
had purchased one or more of these items; law firm libraries were the most likely to have
made a purchase, and 29.41% of them had done so.

Purchases of eBooks, Overall Purchase Volume and Percentage from Amazon
We asked: how much did the library spend on eBooks in the past year? (excluding
spending on licenses for major services such as West or Lexis) We also asked what
percentage of this spending was accounted for by purchases from Amazon. While median
spending was 0, mean spending was $6,271, though much of this was accounted for by a
few libraries, one of which spent $100,000. University law libraries spent by far the most –
a mean of $17,750 followed distantly by law firm libraries, which spent a mean of $2,373.
As might be expected organizations with an Amazon Prime account spent much more than
those without such an account; a mean of $23,000 vs. only $1,933.
20 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon

Amazon accounted for less than 1% of total eBook spending by law libraries in the sample,
0.09% to be exact.

Spending on Audiobooks, Overall and Percentage from Amazon
We asked: How much did the library spend on audiobooks in the past year? The mean was
only $104.05 with a median of 0 (meaning most libraries spent nothing) and a range of 0 to
$3,000. All spending was by university law libraries, and their mean was $350. In this
area, Amazon accounted for 2.78% of total spending.

Purchase of Library Shelving and Furniture from Amazon
We asked: has your library purchased library shelving or furniture through Amazon in the
past year?
Only 7.69% had done so, all libraries with Prime accounts/

Purchases of Videos Through Amazon
We asked: has your library purchased videos through Amazon in the past year?

15.38% had done so, mostly university law libraries, of which 45.45% had done so. For
libraries with a prime account, 40% had purchased videos vs. only 6.9% of those without a
Prime account.

Purchases of Computer and Printer Supplies from Amazon
We asked: has your library purchased computer or printer supplies through Amazon in the
past year?
25.64% had made such purchases in the past year. Half of libraries with a Prime account
had made these purchases vs. only 17.4% of those without.

21 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon

Purchases of Laptops, Desktops and other Computing Devices from Amazon
We asked: has your library purchased tablets, laptops, desktops or other computing
devices through Amazon in the past year?
10.26% had done so, all were relatively small libraries with from 2-4 FTE employees; no
law firm library purchased this technology from Amazon though 25% of courthouse
libraries and 28.57% of “other” libraries had done so.

Purchases of Software from Amazon
We also asked about purchases of software and only 2.56% of libraries sampled had
purchased software in the past year through Amazon.

Purchases of Photocopiers and Related Supplies from Amazon
We asked about photocopiers and, once again, only 2.56% had purchased through Amazon.
The percentage was much greater for photocopier cartridges or ink and other photocopier
supplies; 12.82% had done so; once again, it was mostly university law libraries, of which

36.36% had purchased these items through Amazon in the past year.

Purchases of Online Courses from Amazon
We asked: have your purchased online courses through Amazon in the past year; only
2.56% had done so.

22 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon

Purchases of CD’s, Vinyl Records, and other Music Mediums from Amazon
Also, again only 2.56% had purchased music CD’s, vinyl records or music through other
mediums from Amazon in the past year.
The same percentage – 2.56% -- purchased wireless access equipment.

Purchases of Mobile Computing Recharging Terminals & Nodes
Only 5.13% had purchased mobile computing recharging terminals, nodes or other means
or materials for recharging mobile devices.

Purchases of Bates Stamping Equipment from Amazon
Only 2.56% had purchased bates stamping equipment or supplies through Amazon in the
past year. None had purchased exhibit indexes or tags through Amazon in the past year.

Spending on and Percentage of Purchases of Legal & Other Scholarly Journals from
Amazon
We asked: how much did the library spend on legal and other scholarly journals in the past
year, excluding spending on magazines, directories and other periodicals that are not
scholarly journals.
The mean for the sample was $25,587 with a median of just $5,000 and a range of 0 to

$290,000. Law firm libraries spent a mean of $16,345; university law libraries, $65,500.
Other types of libraries spent considerably less. A mean of only 1% of purchases was
accounted for by sales through Amazon; for law firm libraries, which accounted for all such
purchasing in the sample through Amazon, 2.2% of total sales were through Amazon,
mostly accounted for by one firm which acquired a third of its journal subscriptions
through Amazon.

23 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon

Use of Amazon Cloud Services for Web Hosting, Web Storage and other Applications
None of the law libraries in the sample used Amazon Cloud Services for web hosting, web
storage or back up or any kind of crowdsourcing or outsourcing; 2.56% used it for
databases or other applications; the library that used Amazon for this purpose was a
university library. Another 2.56% used it for content delivery to clients, collaborators or
staff; the one library that used Amazon Web Services for this purpose was a law firm
library.

Law Library Spending on Print Books in the 2017-18, and 2018-19 Academic or Fiscal
Years
We asked: What was the library's approximate total spending (in US$) on print books in
2017-18 academic or fiscal year?
The mean was $165,767 with a median of $120,000 and a range of $450 to $500,000. Law
libraries in the “Other” category, which includes State Law Libraries, spent the most, a
mean of $215,490. Law firm libraries spent the second most, a mean of $174,650 followed
by University law libraries, a mean of $156,250 but even courthouse libraries spent a mean
of $96,000.
Mean spending dropped to an estimated $162,331 for the 2018-19 academic or fiscal year,

a drop of approximately 2.1% but more than 4% in real terms (accounting for inflation).
Unlike many other libraries, law libraries predominantly order their books directly from
publishers, obtaining a mean of 82.23% of their needed books in this way. The percentage
was lowest among university law libraries, that obtained a mean of 63.13% of their books
directly from law publishers rather than through aggregators. For law firm libraries this
percentage was much higher – nearly 94%, and it was even higher for courthouse libraries,
95.25%.

24 | P a g e


Law Library Use of Amazon

Percentage of Book Purchases Through Aggregators and Percentage Purchased
Directly from Publishers
Only 17.78% of total books obtained came through aggregators such as Amazon, Hein, YBP,
Barnes & Noble and other distributors and retailers that offer books from many publishers.
The percentage from aggregators and distributors rose with the size of the library, defined
by number of library staff. Libraries with fewer than 2 full time staff purchased only 9.43%
of their books from aggregators or distributors, increasing to 18.3% for those with 2-4 FTE
staff, and then to 20.48% for those with 5-10 staff FTE, and to 22.29% for those with more
than 10 employees FTE. Most aggregator purchases were by State Law Libraries and
university law libraries; for the latter, purchases through aggregators and retailers
accounted for nearly 37% of print book purchases.
We asked: Approximately what percentage of print book purchases from aggregators in the
past year were purchased through Hein? The mean was 22.17% with a median of 2% and a
range of 0 to 99%. Hein was strongest among university law libraries where it accounted
for a mean of 31.25% of aggregator sales.

Percentage of Law Firm Book Purchases from Aggregators Accounted for by Midwest

Library Services
We asked about Midwest Library Services, which accounted for a mean of 0.72% of
aggregator sales with a media of 0 and a range of 0 to 15%. All of Midwest sales were
accounted for by university law libraries for whom it accounted for a mean of 2.63% of
aggregator purchases.

Percentage of Law Firm Book Purchases from Aggregators Accounted for by Gobi
Library Services
Gobi Library Services accounted for 10.69% of aggregator sales. All of Gobi’s sales were in
the academic law library market, where it accounted for 38.75% of aggregator-placed
order volume. It has no sales in other legal markets.

25 | P a g e