Digitization of our cultural heritage is an excellent way of combining broad accessibility of cultural objects with safe preservation. The first paper of the present issue of our journal presents a national initiative in Germany for their medieval manuscripts. It describes in detail the careful planning of the operation, the proposed platform and the technical infrastructure.

While it has become commonplace to say that the role of our research libraries has changed dramatically with the digital revolution, only a few studies have analysed this phenomenon in full detail. Our second paper describes the outcome of a study in a set of leading UK research libraries of these changes in various aspects of library activity, such as internal organization, user services, specialist positions, and much more.

The issue ends with two book reviews, which again are concerned with digital libraries and digital librarians respectively.

We are looking forward to the remaining issues of volume 24, in which we will publish a selection of the papers that were presented at LIBER’s Annual General Conference in Riga.