The State Bar of Wisconsin Modernizes Books Unbound With Qweri

The State Bar of Wisconsin produces over 60 Continuing Legal Education publications that have been trusted and relied on by Wisconsin attorneys for decades. These publications include all the “brown binders” and other treatises, the Wisconsin Attorney’s Desk Reference, and the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbooks. Books Unbound is the bar exclusive online digital resource and provides online access to all the most recent books produced by the organization, including those that were previously released in print only.

Since September 19th, Books Unbound is powered by Qweri. The first chapter of each book is made available as a sample, and complete volumes can be purchased using the State Bar of Wisconsin Marketplace. Access rights are handled via single sign-on (SSO), providing seamless access for attorneys already logged in on the Bar website. Unrecognized users can opt to login, browse the free sample, or be directed to the Marketplace page corresponding to the book they are trying to access.

The new interface uses filters to restrict searches to the full volumes procured by each user, or to the single chapter samples. Multi-volume search is also possible for collections of several books such as the Benchbooks. Legal citations included in all books are processed and linked to Fastcase, making it easy for attorneys to expand their legal research on that platform thanks to their member’s benefit. To facilitate the adoption of all of these new features, a selection of video tutorials are made available on the Bar website.

The State Bar of Wisconsin is a mandatory professional association, created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, for all attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license. With more than 25,000 members, the State Bar aids the courts in improving the administration of justice, provides continuing legal education and other services for its members, supports the education of law students, and educates the public about the legal system. The State Bar of Wisconsin also provides public services, including attorney referrals, public education and reduced-fee legal assistance for low-income state residents.