This article by Paul Magrath examines the tensions between data protection and transparency in the context of a long overdue digital revolution in the courts of England and Wales. Many traditional hearings are being replaced by virtual or video-conference type hearings, and may in time be dealt with by an online court. There are concerns that open justice may suffer. Yet any attempt to remedy this with more transparent scrutiny of court information will need to conform to the stricter data protection regime under GDPR as well as respecting the privacy of litigants and the presumption of innocence. The author is Head of Product Development and Online Content with ICLR and a trustee of the Transparency Project.

This article discusses an oral history doctoral research project about the little known, yet critical role of the court clerk in Crown Courts. It is surprising that even though Crown Court clerks have been pivotal in trials of the most serious criminal offences, they have been neglected in legal scholarship. This research project has contributed towards filling an absence in the academic literature about the nature and function of their vital work between 1972 and 2015, and was carried out by Dvora Liberman, in partnership with the London School of Economics Legal Biography Project and National Life Stories, British Library.

This paper, written by Gemma John and based on her keynote address at BIALL's 49th Annual Study Conference held in Birmingham in June 2018, explores the value of offices and libraries as spaces for meeting, sharing and learning in a moment when new technology enables individuals to access information anywhere, anytime, at the click of a mouse. Drawing on first-hand material from research, policy and projects, it explores the transformation of offices and libraries as workspaces, and the place of offices in the library and of libraries in the office. It focuses on how both offices and libraries are being designed for productivity as the boundary between work and home begins to blur in the United Kingdom.

In medieval England ‘forest’ did not have the same meaning as it does today but defined large areas of land governed by severe forest laws which Magna Carta had failed to temper. Instead, these were addressed two years later in the Charter of the Forest 1217 which, although a companion charter to the 1217 Magna Carta reissue, remains relatively unknown. This article by Alison Million explores the Charter of the Forest; its history, impact and legacy and considers why and to what extent its memory has been lost in time. It explains how the Charter of the Forest, and the pen of an unwitting scribe, contributed towards the name Magna Carta; a name which has just seen its octocentenial anniversary.

Embarking on a library space planning odyssey is exciting, terrifying and all absorbing. Planning a new library building or a major refurbishment is a challenging process requiring a strong strategic vision, attention to detail, excellent communication and an element of crystal-ball gazing. This article, written by Karen Latimer, examines the changing typology and current trends in library building design which help planners to envisage the future library and make informed decisions. These trends include the move from collections to connections, the need for varied and flexible learning spaces, sustainability, the impact of technological developments, and the need for scholarly research centres amongst others. Examples of recent library projects are cited to provide inspiration and illustrate the points made. The planning process required to brief the design team effectively and to achieve a successful outcome is considered as is the key role of post-occupancy evaluation in ensuring a continuous loop of improvement. To conclude resources available to provide support are described.

This article, written by Helen Garner, reviews the progress of the Moys Reclassification Project at the Bodleian Law Library and covers the issues relating to the lessons learnt and the benefits of changing to a different classification scheme. The Bodleian Law Library started work on the Moys Reclassification Project in 2006 and work is still on-going to complete the project.

In this article Susan Doe reports from the perspective of the law firm sector on the progress towards the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation that became automatically ‘live’ on 25 May 2018. She provides an introduction to the Regulation, highlights some practicalities for law firms when considering compliance with GDPR and offers a ‘to do’ list with reference to the record of data processing, training needs, security, and contracts and documentation. She also provides advice on what should be considered especially in respect of client demands.

This article, by Sarah Bracey and Tony Simmonds, explores professional and cultural challenges confronting two BIALL members involved in a project to enhance law library services in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It considers approaches to developing effectual supportive partnerships in a developing country context where the legal information ecosystem and provision of resource differ to an extent that all but inverts the familiar working world. The article traces the boundaries of what change is feasible in such a context, cautioning against over-ambition and advocating areas for future focus around staffing, co-ordination of donation programmes and digitisation of primary materials.

In this article Harpreet Dhillon recounts the experience and impact of Middle Temple Library's transition from an alphabetical organisation of textbooks to a subject order using the Moys Classification Scheme.

Professor Sir John Baker was born in Sheffield in April 1944 towards the end of the Second World War. His path into legal history was via the Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford, and University College London (UCL) in the early 1960s. It was his good fortune that lecturing arrangements still in place at UCL as a wartime legacy caused him to fall under the inspirational guidance of Professor Toby Milsom at LSE for his legal history tuition. By the time John Baker moved to Cambridge in 1971 he had been called to the Bar at the Inner Temple, and his interest in the development of the common law in the late mediaeval/early Tudor period was firmly grounded. The next forty years were spent at Cambridge, where he established an enviable reputation as an innovative and meticulous scholar, whose publications output has become legendary. He retired from the Downing Chair of the Laws of England in 2011, and was knighted for his services to legal history in 2003. This article by Lesley Dingle attempts to highlight some aspects of Professor Baker's illustrious career, and should be read in conjunction with his entry in the Cambridge Eminent Scholars Archive, both of which are based on interviews that she conducted with Sir John in the Law Faculty in February-March 2017.

This article developed from a talk delivered by the authors, Timonie Green and Diane Miller, at the BIALL Annual Conference in June 2018, whereby they looked at how the Library and Information Services in both of their firms have managed a move to agile working. Withers, at the time, were deep in preparations for the move, whilst Gowling WLG had been working agilely for some time. The hope is that by telling these stories, and talking about the issues encountered, some pointers and ideas can be given to other firms facing the challenge.

This article, written by Sahar Bhaimia, presents an overview of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) (2016/679) (GDPR) which will apply automatically across the EU on 25 May 2018. The GDPR is an update and reform of existing EU data protection law, first established by the Data Protection Directive (1995/46/EC). The article is for knowledge managers and information services professionals who may be asked to take on responsibility for GDPR, and focuses on the UK. It covers the fundamentals of EU data protection law, highlights key changes brought about by the GDPR, and provides practical tips and suggestions for knowledge managers.

This article represents a summary of the plenary session that Barry Vickery presented to delegates at the 2018 BIALL Conference in Birmingham. It explored the changing role of technology in a range of different markets and showed how different management styles, attitudes and strategies have created very different outcomes for those respective companies. Those that have chosen to ignore technology have generally suffered, fallen behind the competition and in ever increasing numbers, gone bust. Parallels were drawn between these companies and professional services today. Are there lessons we can take from these failures that we can use in our working life, even in our personal lives, or do we just keep our head down and convince ourselves that ‘We've always done it this way’?

The McCann FitzGerald library provides a library and information service to one of Ireland's premier law firms. As Megan Guthrie explains, it was decided to reclassify the library collection using the Moys Classification Scheme for Legal Materials1 to enhance and improve the flow of the collection. It also provided an opportunity to conduct a stocktake of library material. The project was broken down into three main steps: assigning a Moys number, relabelling the physical material and updating the library management system. There were a number of challenges including the need to modify or add to the Moys numbers and finding the optimal process for relabelling and accounting for the material. It was necessary to adapt the initial plan throughout the project to account for any obstacles or restrictions that were encountered.

In this article, Masoud Gerami, Managing Director, and Aidan Hawes, Head of Commercial Development, offer an exploration of the history of Justis, and the influence the company has had on the delivery of legal information over its 30-year history. They describe the development of technology over this time, from the rise of optical media through to the features offered by today's online legal research technology, focusing on Justis’ key milestones over this period. They discuss the range of innovations Justis has been responsible for, the changes in the legal research industry, and offer an insight into the future aspirations of the company.