Take No Source for Granted or Why Vendors Need to Audit the Content of Their Databases Regularly: 2011 Revision of Connecticut General Statutes Not Available on Lexis

From an AALL listserv message dated April 21, 2011 and republished with the author's permission:

We've discovered that Lexis has not loaded the 2011 revision of the Connecticut General Statutes, effective January 1, 2011.  They do provide updates through their advance legislation service, but we advise researchers of Connecticut law to use the Connecticut General Assembly website www.cga.ct.gov  for current law.
 
We have confirmed that Westlaw's version of the statutes is up to date as well.
 
Just a good lesson to not take any source for granted.  I have spoken with Lexis and am waiting confirmation that this omission has been corrected.
 
Chris Graesser
Legislative Librarian
Connecticut Legislative Library

As of yesterday, the Company was still "looking into it."

Let's follow Chris' advice during Preservation Week, April 24–30, 2011, by making sure our user populations take no source for granted. I would add along those lines that it might be wise for our very expensive legal search vendors to perform regular audits of their databases. Chis has called attention an example of one huge gaping hole in the provision of online legal resources by Lexis. One has to wonder what was the cause, why no alert was broadcasted via Lexis online or emailed to account holders and whether an audit would have identified the problem.

Not too late, is it, for adding a question to ALR final exams about how to check on the currency of vendor database resources. [JH]