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.