Legal iPhone Apps - Is there a Librarian for that?
You see, after reading Bob Ambrogi's post this AM critiquing FR Evidence, a (U.S. based) iPhone app, which promised "to provide the complete text of the Federal Rules of Evidence" but is missing a rule (502) that was added in Sept. 19, 2008, I am concerned.
My concern is that law librarians, who have historically played an important role in reviewing reference materials, especially with issues like accuracy & currency, seem to be lagging when it comes to the evolving mobile-web space.
Over the next couple years, the rate of new delivery devices is going to simply explode: Kindles & other e-book readers, Apple's new iPad and other tablet-like devices, smart phones, etc. Getting beyond these gadgets and knowing which tools (and publishers) can be trusted is going to be a huge issue!
So I'm just putting it out there. If law librarians were willing to review CD-Rom products 10 years ago, why hasn't anyone stepped forward to review mobile legal information products?
2 Comments:
So far I've seen nothing on the iPhone platform to warrant the attention of law librarians, because nothing available provides the content and functionality necessary for due diligence research. Though I suppose it should be our job to say that louder and more often.
Tom: I agree. It's the silence that seems odd for this profession. We're usually pretty vocal.
Post a Comment
<< Home