While digital scholarly resources are frequently considered as targeted to domain experts, the manuscript database Bibliotheca Legum (BL) and the 'Edition of the Frankish Capitularies' (Capitularia), demonstrate how such ventures can successfully reach communities beyond their immediate scope. Though the two arose under strikingly different parameters, these closely linked projects transform medieval legal sources into accessible, interconnected resources that serve both scholarly research and teaching purposes.

Capitularia has received funding by the German Academies' Programme since 2014, working towards a hybrid edition of capitularies – central legal sources of the European Middle Ages (cf. Kaschke 2019). By contrast, the BL began in 2012 as a simple Word file compiling data on manuscripts preserving the so-called leges, gradually maturing into a manuscript database documenting the tradition and transmission of secular law texts in the Frankish realm (cf. Schulz/Trump 2018). Notwithstanding these divergent origins, both projects have deliberately pursued to complement each other and create synergies.

Their joint participation the Databases of Early Latin Manuscripts (DELM) network illustrates how collaborative frameworks can create added value extending beyond individual project goals. Both BL and Capitularia feed into the DELM Lookup Service, giving researchers unified access to otherwise dispersed information. Where efforts to build standardised authority data for Latin manuscripts for Latin manuscripts have stalled, DELM introduced a straightforward reference system based on Bischoff's 'Katalog' (Bischoff 1998–2014) and the 'Codices Latini Antiquiores' (Lowe 1934–1971), enabling cross-platform linkage between datasets. Both projects have also incorporated identifiers from the German 'Handschriftenportal', to include those in their TEI-XML files. This approach ensures manuscripts can be found across multiple platforms and facilitates integration also with evolving infrastructures and services in the future.

The projects' networking extends well beyond technical alignment. Through the Academies' Programme, Capitularia maintains ties with other long-term scholarly projects, enabling ongoing exchange about sustainability, technology choices, and editorial practice. Its blog series 'From the engine room' enacts a commitment to open science communication by sharing decisions about infrastructure and methodology with a broader readership. Other series, such as 'Manuscript of the Month', bring individual manuscripts or texts to life for general audiences, rendering codicological observations into accessible accounts of medieval legal culture. Integration into university teaching brings students into direct contact with the (digital) methodologies employed. By participating in specialised training events, such as the Monumenta Germaniae Historica Autumn Academy on Early Medieval Law, the staff members strive to complement traditional training in historical auxiliary sciences.

The BL's evolution demonstrates that digital resources need not begin with extensive funding to grow into valuable research tools. Capitularia's experience shows systematic long-term planning while revealing challenges of adapting to changing standards.

By drawing on one another's experiences and participating jointly in wider networks, both projects have achieved a degree of interoperability and reach that would be unattainable in isolation. This talk highlights concrete examples of productive collaboration, networking, and outreach, while acknowledging the ongoing difficulty of meeting varied demands within constrained resources.