This article written by Helen Garner, the Bodleian Law Librarian, reviews three different building projects that have taken place at the Bodleian Law Library (BLL) between 2010 and 2020. The three projects were all undertaken independently of each other and have transformed the BLL. This article discusses each project and explains the work that was completed. This is followed by a summary of the impact of the projects and the lessons learnt.

The British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) carried out a survey of BIALL members during May 2020 in order to gain a view, at a point in time, of the impact of Covid-19.1 National lockdowns in both the United Kingdom and Ireland had come into force in March 2020. The survey was a way of gauging how the legal information community was responding to the challenges and changing circumstances brought about as a result of the pandemic. This brief introduction by Karen Brown, President of BIALL, sets the scene for the results of the survey which appear in the pages that follow.2

The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted Australian universities and their libraries but has been felt most strongly by students and staff who are already marginalised. This article, written by Kay Tucker and Becky Batagol, draws upon both published literature and the authors’ own experiences as a librarian and academic employed at Monash University, Australia's largest university. Important lessons from the pandemic for universities and university libraries at times of crisis and disaster include: actively recognising and responding to structural inequalities amongst students and staff; organising services so that all can participate to their fullest ability; providing students with opportunities for social connection, enhanced digital capabilities, safe and inclusive spaces and accessible materials; as well as flexible employment practices.

In this article David Gee, the Librarian at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), describes the recent two year ‘IALS Transformation Project’ that Charles Clore House at 17 Russell Square has undergone and the benefits for the Institute and its library that have resulted from the refurbishment work that has been carried out. He looks at the aims of the project, explains how a continuity of services and activities during the works has been assured and how the transformation of the building meets the needs of the postgraduate law students and legal researchers of today.

In this article David Wills, the Librarian of the Squire Law Library, offers a brief description of the extraordinary range of architecture at the University of Cambridge with particular reference to the David Williams Building, designed by the world-renowned architects Foster + Partners. He suggests that, in the context of the Squire Law Library, which occupies the top three floors of the David Williams Building, the building has truly come of age; he looks at some of the features and challenges of its modern design; and notes that the building looks set to play a major part in the education and research activity of legal scholars and university students into the distant future. This article is a personal reflection based on the author's experience of using and working in the building for some 26 years since it was constructed and opened in the mid-1990s.

The author of this article Margaret Clay looks back on her long tenure as Librarian at the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court libraries serving barristers, judiciary, and students on the Bar Course. She recalls the selection process she experienced and proceeds to discuss the introduction of automation to the Library, a high priority in the early days. She explains the various relocations of parts of the Library's print collection (made necessary by periodic changes in the priorities of the parent organisation) and traces the development of electronic services: from CD-ROM databases to web-based services and onward to social media. She outlines the initiatives in reader services and other areas entered upon during her tenure and, in conclusion, looks forward to the future of the information service she was instrumental in setting up. Margaret retired in 2020.*

In this article Sara Berry provides an account of some of the history relating to the Advocates Library in Edinburgh. She explains how the Advocates Library played a key role in the Scottish Enlightenment and acted as Scotland's national library up to the foundation of the National Library of Scotland in 1925. The article also looks at the library's integral role in supporting Faculty Members and the Scottish justice system through history to modern day. The last section looks at some of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on Members, library staff and working practices.

The following article, written by Amanda Saville, is a summary of the author's experiences as the client for three major new library buildings. It attempts to provide some advice and help for others contemplating a new library or significant refurbishment project by taking readers through the various stages of a development project. It assumes that the reader has no prior experience of managing building projects and offers some practical suggestions for a library client to consider. The projects on which the author was involved are listed at the end of the article and readers who would like to learn more are encouraged to go to the websites of the three institutions as all of them include detailed information and many images of the buildings.

Bennett Graff, senior acquisitions editor at Gale, reviews the origins and current composition of The Making of Modern Law, a series of individual collections of digitized primary sources devoted to legal history. This overview explores the rationale behind the development of these collections and the research needs that they meet.

In this article Samantha Steer looks at recent market insights as to the expectations of law firm clients, as well as the traits of lawyers, and presents key features from Westlaw Edge UK that address both aspects. She focuses on how Westlaw Edge UK can help lawyers with regard to accuracy, efficiency and confidence.

In this article James Hamilton, Research Principal at the Society of Writers to HM Signet in Edinburgh, describes the history of the Signet Library as it approaches its 300th anniversary. He writes about some of the changes that have taken place over those three centuries and he also mentions some of the challenges for the library as the nature of the legal profession has altered, not least those presented recently by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This article by Isabelle Brenneur-Garel, President of Juriconnexion and its working group, ‘Journée’1, focuses on the Juriconnexion association's annual conference, held on 21 January 2021 by videoconference. The choice of topic was motivated by the recent pandemic: changes to legal information and work in times of crisis. How have professionals navigated this ongoing crisis? What coping strategies have they developed? What does the future hold? More than twenty speakers from academia, legal publishing, legal associations and networks, and the legal and legal-related professions shared their experiences with members of the working group.

In 2019 the Bar of Ireland Law Library launched an online exhibition detailing the first one hundred years of women in the law in Ireland and the first one hundred women called to the Irish Bar. The online exhibition coincided with the centenary celebrations of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 and a physical exhibition curated in collaboration with the Honorable Society of Kings Inns and the Law Society of Ireland. This article by Vanessa Curley and Sarah Foley explores the background to how Law Library staff became involved in creating historical exhibitions, the development of a digital archive of The Bar of Ireland and curating online exhibitions to complement this. It will also discuss the benefits of such activities to the Law Library service and the wider Bar of Ireland.

This article, by SarahLouise McDonald, is an examination of the history and recent refurbishment of the Law Library located at the Old College campus at the University of Edinburgh. This article describes notable incidents in the history of the School of Law, and explores how these have combined to create a multifaceted identity for the Law Library. The author considers the challenges which library staff have faced during the latest upgrade to facilities and how this has affected daily operations. Finally, the effect of recent global events on the library's approach to service delivery is discussed, and opportunities for positive growth are identified amongst a complex landscape of resource purchasing and access.

In this article Beth Flerlage and Renae Satterley reflect on the library staffs’ experience of using Agile project management techniques and cloud-based tools to restructure resources at Middle Temple Library.

In response to evolving legal technologies, this article by Dominique Garingan and Alison Jane Pickard explores the concept of algorithmic literacy, a technological literacy which facilitates metacognitive practices surrounding the use of artificially intelligent systems and the principles that shape ethical and responsible user experiences. This article examines the extent to which existing information, digital, and computer literacy frameworks and professional competency standards ground algorithmic literacy. It proceeds to identify various elements of algorithmic literacy within existing literature, provide examples of algorithmic literacy initiatives in academic and non-academic settings, and explore the need for an algorithmic literacy framework to ground algorithmic literacy initiatives within the legal information profession.