Release of Huge Survey on Ontario Lawyers' Research Needs

LibraryCo, the not-for-profit organization that oversees operations of the County and District Law Libraries in the province of Ontario, recently released the findings of a huge survey of members of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

The survey sought information on members' legal research needs, law library use, and expectations for legal information use in future. More than 3,000 lawyers responded.

It found some significant differences among practising lawyers by practice style, region and age. The biggest differences are between sole practitioners and those who practise in small firms (five or fewer lawyers) on the one hand, and those who practise in larger firms (20 or more lawyers) and those who are not in private practice on the other.

There are also fairly consistent differences by region, particularly between the Toronto and East Regions as compared to the remaining regions. There are also differences by age, most notably in the preference for and use of electronic resources.

In order of preference of research tools used, the Internet is perceived by a wide margin to be the most important, followed by Continuing Legal Education. "The library of your firm or office" comes in third, and county or district law libraries are the fourth-ranked choice.