Mr David F. Wills

Squire Law Librarian

Chair, Cambridge University Libraries Copyright Group (CULCG)

Member of the Board of Directors, International Association of Law Libraries (IALL)

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David Wills holds the position of Squire Law Librarian at the Squire Law Library at the University of Cambridge. He was appointed to this role in 1996 having previously been Assistant Library Officer (Law) at the Squire from 1993. He manages one of the largest legal libraries in the UK which supports the research and teaching activities of Cambridge’s Faculty of Law. Previously, he worked in the Civil Service as Assistant Librarian at the Home Office in London (1990-1993). 

In the wider context of the academic library environment he has also held, alongside his post at the Squire, a variety of senior management roles within Cambridge University Libraries, including Interim Head of Humanities & Social Sciences Libraries in 2022. He was Assistant Secretary to the Library Syndicate between 2016 and 2021.

He has been an active member of the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) since 1998, was President of the Association in 2010/2011 and was awarded Life Membership in 2017. Between 2011 and 2022 David was the editor-in-chief of the journal Legal Information Management published by Cambridge University Press. Among a number of external roles he is currently a member of the Advisory Council for the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), London. He held a Visiting Fellowship in Law Librarianship at IALS in 1997-1998 and he is a Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Association of Law Libraries (IALL) for the period 2022-2025.

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Journal articles and blog posts

• David Wills, 'The Squire Law Library: Reflections on a Global Law Collection' (IALL Blog, 6 January 2023) https://iall.org/the-squire-law-library-reflections-on-a-global-law-coll... 
• David Wills, 'The Squire Law Library: Celebrating Foster's Design. A Return to Forever' (2021) 21(3-4) Legal Information Management, 146-159
• David Wills, 'From The Law Librarian to Legal Information Management, From Bulletin to Journal: a Jubilee Year' (2020) 20(1) Legal Information Management, 4-16
• David Wills, ‘Library Routes’ (2018) (January) BIALL Newsletter, 17-19
• David Wills, ‘Some Reflections on the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) “Summit” 2010: Mapping Our Future’ (2010) 10(4) Legal Information Management, 287-290
• Ruth Bird, David Wills & Jules Winterton, ‘Collaborating on Collections: a Structured Approach’ (2009) BIALL Newsletter, 13-14
• David Wills, ‘The Squire Law Library: Past, Present and Future’ (2001) (2) Cambridge LawLink, 8-9
• David Wills, ‘Greater Collaboration Between Law Libraries?’ (1999) 14 Amicus Curiae, Journal of IALS, 18-1
• David Wills, ‘National Legal Collections: Historical Co-operation’ (1999) 30(1) The Law Librarian, 65-67
• David Wills, ‘The Squire Law Library…Rediscovered’ (1999) 31(2) The Law Librarian, 124-126