How are research libraries preparing to meet the needs of 21st century researchers? For the past decade, the British Library’s Digital Scholarship team has worked to ensure that the Library’s collections, systems, policies and processes meet the emerging needs of anyone who wants to conduct innovative research with the Library’s digital collections and data. This article firstly provides some context for the British Library’s investment in this area, then discusses how the team seeks to understand and encourage the use of collections in digital scholarship and, finally, addresses some of the challenges this entails.