Tony Simmonds describes the various initiatives undertaken, and the lessons learned by the information staff at the College of Law's multiple sites, in relation to social networking including blogging, wikis, and social bookmarking.

The chairman of the European Information Association examines some of the more useful sources of regular information for those seeking to keep up to date on the European Union, its institutions and legislative process. Having reviewed the key official sources, such as the Rapid database and the press site of the European Commission's Representation in London, he explains the importance of the free services available from the various commercial producers of EU information.

This issue of LIM has a theme of Scottish legal information and David Hart the highly respected and long-standing (ex) Scottish law librarian, kindly agreed to talk to the Editor about his long career on law librarianship and his involvement with BIALL

This article by John Furlong is an updated and revised version of an article originally authored by John Furlong and Susan Doe and published in Legal Information Management 2006, 6(2) Summer 2006 and covers in some detail the basic sources for researching European Union law. It also gives some background on the growth of the European Union and its law making.

Emily Allbon recounts her experiences in integrating social networking tools into her work with law students and, in particular, how she has integrated them with her prize-winning portal – Lawbore. She also documents her use of personal response systems in her teaching sessions.

As part of our 40th Anniversary issue we asked the immediate Past President of the Association, Jackie Fishleigh, to tell us what she felt the most important activities of the Association have been over the past year. We also asked Daniella King, now the President, to write about what she considers are the challenges the Association immediately faces.

This article by Stuart Reid and Janice Edwards of Maclay Murray & Spens, focusses on three areas of the Scottish legal system: the Scottish courts system; the impact of devolution in Scotland and some examples of differences between the Scottish and English legal systems.

Alison Pope explains how Staffordshire University Law School has redesigned its legal research module, with emphasis placed on information literacy and with careful timetabling to ensure the module is embedded in the curriculum.

This article, written by Susan Mansfield, Head of Information Services, on the eve of the Scottish Parliament's tenth anniversary, discusses how the Parliament came into being and explains how it works. There are a number of resources mentioned to assist the reader in following the business of the Scottish Parliament. The article goes on to discuss how the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) was set up, its founding principles, its structure, staffing and services and concludes with a look at future challenges for SPICe.

On the occasion of the Association's 30th Birthday, Mary Blake produced A History of the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians 1969–1999, to which members are directed for a detailed account of the aims and objectives, activities and publications of the Association during that period. Details of the past ten years can be found in the History which is available on the website. The following account is intended to draw readers' attention to just some of the Association's most important milestones in its journey through the past 40 years, including notable events in the history of Legal Information Management.

European Sources Online (ESO) is an electronic information service that provides information focusing on Europe. This article, by Ian Thomson of Cardiff University and Executive Editor of ESO, describes the development and the background to ESO, the key features and objectives of the service and current challenges.

Lawyers are threatened as never before by the commoditisation of services and the automation of legal advice. Information professionals have been facing such threats for years. In this keynote article, Tim Buckley Owen asks whether it is time to make common cause?

Sarah Rudman, Learning and Knowledge Management Director, describes the successful implementation by the information and knowledge management team of a new intranet in a London law firm.

Roddy Waldhelm, Head of the Solicitor's Legal Information Centre, describes the work of Government lawyers in Scotland and how their information needs are met by his team, which provides a dedicated in-house legal library and research service.

Margaret Watson (Bodleian Law Library) and Maria Bell (British Library of Political and Economic Science, LSE) write about their role in providing EU information for academic research and examine the issues that exist in this specialist area.