Kindle law books?

Posted by Dirk Avery at 12:48 pm under Internet, Technology.

As much as I love the muscles I’ve developed hauling around hundreds of pounds of law books, doesn’t it seem like we should have electronic law books? The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance released a report in May 2007 on the high cost of textbooks. Of its many suggestions to lower costs for students, the Committee included electronic books and readers. While this might be a fine way to save money, the most compelling reason to move electronic is something Newton could appreciate: weight. Is there any reason why you shouldn’t have your complete textbook, related horn books, and up-to-minute case law updates when you walk into Constitutional law? The Con law assigned by my professor back in the day was so heavy that students literally cut up their books, bringing just the relevant sections. (We also walked uphill both ways, in the snow, to law school.) When the professor wanted to tie today’s cases together with cases we discussed a month ago, the book decomposers were out of luck. I’m not calling for new technology. I’m merely calling on publishers, law schools and professors to come into the 21st century.

The technology of electronic book readers certainly seems to be coming of age. Though I have not yet purchased one, Amazon’s Kindle looks pretty impressive. In my opinion, its most impressive features are: 1) the number of available books (currently 100,000+), 2) the free, pre-configured wireless connectivity available most everywhere, and 3) the paper-like screen display. Other notable features include auto-delivery of top US and foreign papers, it being lightweight, and the ability to view your own Word documents.

Law professors, consider electronic self-publication! My bet is that you’ll make a lot more money that you will from West, Aspen and Lexis. And, you’ll save a poor law student’s back.

Update: While law textbooks seem to be lacking in Kindle format, Amazon has over 1,500 other non-fiction law books. The top three Kindle legal, non-fiction books are currently The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin, Perfectly Legal by David Cay Johnston, and Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court by Jan Crawford Greenburg.