Library Director Janet Sinder Honored with Article of the Year Award from Law Library Journal

An article by Professor Janet Sinder, Director of the Brooklyn Law School Library, has been honored with the Law Library Journal Article of the Year Award.

The article, "The Effects of Demand-Driven Acquisitions on Law LibraryCollection Development," 108 Law Library Journal 155 (2016), examines the advantages and disadvantages of demand-driven acquisitions, in which libraries—including the Brooklyn Law School library—include books in online catalogs but do not pay for them unless a user requests them. The practice is used most often for e-books, and it has the advantage of making a lot of books available to users without the cost of purchasing all of them, Sinder explained.

There are a few potential issues with the approach as well, according to Sinder. E-books are generally more expensive than hard copies, there are limitations on printing and downloading, and problems arise if the publisher removes a book from the system. But overall, she believes the practice can be a useful one for law libraries.

“I suggest some best practices [in the article], including purchasing books that law libraries believe will have lasting value and interest for users,” she said.

Sinder was honored at an awards luncheon at the American Association of Law Libraries meeting on July 16, in Austin, Texas.