This column was born out of curiosity and community. Inspired by the many conversations and shared experiences of colleagues and friends at gatherings of the International Association of Law Libraries (IALL) and other law library organizations around the world, it seeks to explore the ever-evolving roles we play in the legal community.

Librarianship is a profession guided by ethical principles that prioritize access to information and the protection of intellectual freedom. These principles can provide a framework for understanding how society should respond to legal judgments, particularly those that result in societal division. One such example is the 1973 landmark judgment in the United States, Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion. Despite multiple attempts to repeal it, a successful attempt in 2022 resulted in another landmark decision to overturn the ruling, prompting a political outcry from the Left.

However, it is crucial for all parties involved to adhere to ethical standards in responding to such divisive issues. This paper argues that librarianship can serve as a model for navigating divisive legal judgments. If society can adopt principles such as access to information and protection of intellectual freedom, it can move towards a more inclusive and respectful discourse. The adoption of these principles can enable all parties, including judges, citizens, and lawmakers, to better respond to divisive legal judgments. Librarianship emphasizes the importance of respectful and informed discourse, and its ethical principles can be used as a guide for creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding.

A working knowledge of copyright is essential for academic library staff at all levels if they are to effectively support their users. However, it is an area that causes anxiety amongst staff who often feel underprepared to deal with the questions they receive. The Covid-19 pandemic and the corresponding online shift has highlighted the need for embedded copyright expertise but how do academic libraries equip their staff with the copyright knowledge they need and (perhaps crucially) give them the confidence to use it? Although formal training is available, copyright is a changeable area requiring ongoing education which is no longer practical in the age of limited training budgets. This case study of the approach at Cambridge University Libraries explores some of the potential reasons for staff apprehension around copyright, the range of copyright knowledge and skills needed in an academic library and how a collaborative approach has helped to increase the copyright confidence of staff across the institution. This article has been written by Claire Sewell, Research Support Librarian at the University of Cambridge.

In this article Christian Wolf seeks to identify and understand the nature of the profession of law librarianship in Germany. The first question he seeks to address is whether there is a recognised profession at all. He explains some basic principles of German public and labour law and then, having laid this foundation, he describes the profession of law librarianship in Germany in detail.

Jonathan Sims looks at the way the British Library has been redefining its role in light of the changing environment of society's information revolution. An overview of challenges from the information society and the institutional complex is followed by descriptions of how the Library is responding through content strategy and programmes for digitisation, digital preservation and web archiving. A brief look is also taken at the new social science strategy and a new content specialist role for law and socio-legal studies.