diff --git a/src/app/app.reducer.ts b/src/app/app.reducer.ts
index 5bd4f745d9..e842c0efd3 100644
--- a/src/app/app.reducer.ts
+++ b/src/app/app.reducer.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ import { sidebarReducer, SidebarState } from './shared/sidebar/sidebar.reducer';
 import { truncatableReducer, TruncatablesState } from './shared/truncatable/truncatable.reducer';
 import { ThemeState, themeReducer } from './shared/theme-support/theme.reducer';
 import { correlationIdReducer } from './correlation-id/correlation-id.reducer';
+import { contextHelpReducer, ContextHelpState } from './shared/context-help.reducer';
 
 export interface AppState {
   router: fromRouter.RouterReducerState;
@@ -71,6 +72,7 @@ export interface AppState {
   epeopleRegistry: EPeopleRegistryState;
   groupRegistry: GroupRegistryState;
   correlationId: string;
+  contextHelp: ContextHelpState;
 }
 
 export const appReducers: ActionReducerMap<AppState> = {
@@ -92,7 +94,8 @@ export const appReducers: ActionReducerMap<AppState> = {
   communityList: CommunityListReducer,
   epeopleRegistry: ePeopleRegistryReducer,
   groupRegistry: groupRegistryReducer,
-  correlationId: correlationIdReducer
+  correlationId: correlationIdReducer,
+  contextHelp: contextHelpReducer,
 };
 
 export const routerStateSelector = (state: AppState) => state.router;
diff --git a/src/app/page-internal-server-error/page-internal-server-error.component.html b/src/app/page-internal-server-error/page-internal-server-error.component.html
index 595fd9961b..bb43cdc678 100644
--- a/src/app/page-internal-server-error/page-internal-server-error.component.html
+++ b/src/app/page-internal-server-error/page-internal-server-error.component.html
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <div class="page-internal-server-error container">
   <h1>500</h1>
-  <h2><small *dsContextHelp="{content: 'context-help.multi-para.test'}">{{"500.page-internal-server-error" | translate}}</small></h2>
+  <h2><small *dsContextHelp="{content: 'context-help.multi-para.test', id: 'server-error'}">{{"500.page-internal-server-error" | translate}}</small></h2>
   <br/>
   <p>{{"500.help" | translate}}</p>
   <br/>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/context-help-wrapper/context-help-wrapper.component.html b/src/app/shared/context-help-wrapper/context-help-wrapper.component.html
index 939ad8323c..03fc46c172 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/context-help-wrapper/context-help-wrapper.component.html
+++ b/src/app/shared/context-help-wrapper/context-help-wrapper.component.html
@@ -10,12 +10,16 @@
         </ng-container>
     </div>
 </ng-template>
-<i [ngClass]="{'ds-context-help-icon fas fa-question-circle shadow-sm': true,
+<i *ngIf="shouldShowIcon$ | async"
+   [ngClass]="{'ds-context-help-icon fas fa-question-circle shadow-sm': true,
               'ds-context-help-icon-right': iconPlacement !== 'left',
               'ds-context-help-icon-left': iconPlacement === 'left'}"
    [ngbTooltip]="help"
    [placement]="tooltipPlacement"
+   autoClose="outside"
+   triggers="manual"
    container="'body'"
-   triggers="click:blur">
+   #tooltip="ngbTooltip"
+   (click)="onClick()">
 </i>
 <ng-container *ngTemplateOutlet="templateRef"></ng-container>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/context-help-wrapper/context-help-wrapper.component.ts b/src/app/shared/context-help-wrapper/context-help-wrapper.component.ts
index 0ef535bf95..e4e22d7ebc 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/context-help-wrapper/context-help-wrapper.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/context-help-wrapper/context-help-wrapper.component.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
-import { Component, Input, OnInit, TemplateRef } from '@angular/core';
+import { Component, Input, OnInit, TemplateRef, OnDestroy, AfterViewInit, ViewChild } from '@angular/core';
 import { PlacementArray } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap/util/positioning';
 import { TranslateService } from '@ngx-translate/core';
-import { Observable, of as observableOf } from 'rxjs';
+import { Observable, of as observableOf, Subscription } from 'rxjs';
 import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
 import { PlacementDir } from './placement-dir.model';
+import content from '*.scss';
+import { ContextHelpService } from '../context-help.service';
+import { NgbTooltip } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';
+import { hasValueOperator } from '../empty.util';
+import { ContextHelp } from '../context-help.model';
 
-/*
+/**
  * This component renders an info icon next to the wrapped element which
  * produces a tooltip when clicked.
  */
@@ -14,28 +19,39 @@ import { PlacementDir } from './placement-dir.model';
   templateUrl: './context-help-wrapper.component.html',
   styleUrls: ['./context-help-wrapper.component.scss'],
 })
-export class ContextHelpWrapperComponent {
-  /*
+export class ContextHelpWrapperComponent implements OnInit, AfterViewInit, OnDestroy {
+  /**
    * Template reference for the wrapped element.
    */
   @Input() templateRef: TemplateRef<any>;
 
-  /*
+  /**
+   * Identifier for the context help tooltip.
+   */
+  @Input() id: string;
+
+  /**
    * Indicate where the tooltip should show up, relative to the info icon.
    */
   @Input() tooltipPlacement?: PlacementArray;
 
-  /*
+  /**
    * Indicate whether the info icon should appear to the left or to
    * the right of the wrapped element.
    */
   @Input() iconPlacement?: PlacementDir;
 
-  /*
+  /**
    * If true, don't process text to render links.
    */
   @Input() dontParseLinks?: boolean;
 
+  @ViewChild('tooltip', { static: false }) tooltip: NgbTooltip;
+
+  shouldShowIcon$: Observable<boolean>;
+
+  private subs: Subscription[] = [];
+
   // TODO: dependent on evaluation order of input setters?
   parsedContent$: Observable<(string | {href: string, text: string})[]> = observableOf([]);
   @Input() set content(content : string) {
@@ -46,9 +62,48 @@ export class ContextHelpWrapperComponent {
     );
   }
 
-  constructor(private translateService: TranslateService) { }
+  constructor(
+    private translateService: TranslateService,
+    private contextHelpService: ContextHelpService
+  ) { }
 
-  /*
+  ngOnInit() {
+    this.shouldShowIcon$ = this.contextHelpService.shouldShowIcons$();
+  }
+
+  ngAfterViewInit() {
+    this.subs = [
+      this.contextHelpService.getContextHelp$(this.id)
+        .pipe(hasValueOperator())
+        .subscribe((ch: ContextHelp) => {
+          if (ch.isTooltipVisible && !this.tooltip.isOpen()) {
+            this.tooltip.open();
+          } else if (!ch.isTooltipVisible && this.tooltip.isOpen()) {
+            this.tooltip.close()
+          }
+        }),
+
+      this.tooltip.shown.subscribe(() => {
+        this.contextHelpService.showTooltip(this.id);
+      }),
+
+      this.tooltip.hidden.subscribe(() => {
+        this.contextHelpService.hideTooltip(this.id);
+      })
+    ];
+  }
+
+  ngOnDestroy() {
+    for (let sub of this.subs) {
+      sub.unsubscribe();
+    }
+  }
+
+  onClick() {
+    this.contextHelpService.toggleTooltip(this.id);
+  }
+
+  /**
    * Parses Markdown-style links, splitting up a given text
    * into link-free pieces of text and objects of the form
    * {href: string, text: string} (which represent links).
diff --git a/src/app/shared/context-help.actions.ts b/src/app/shared/context-help.actions.ts
index 2bd8b6a163..5f985c2f73 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/context-help.actions.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/context-help.actions.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { Action } from '@ngrx/store';
 import { type } from './ngrx/type';
-import { ContextHelpModel } from './context-help.model';
+import { ContextHelp } from './context-help.model';
 
 export const ContextHelpActionTypes = {
   'CONTEXT_HELP_TOGGLE_ICONS': type('dspace/context-help/CONTEXT_HELP_TOGGLE_ICONS'),
@@ -23,9 +23,9 @@ export class ContextHelpToggleIconsAction implements Action {
  */
 export class ContextHelpAddAction implements Action {
   type = ContextHelpActionTypes.CONTEXT_HELP_ADD;
-  model: ContextHelpModel;
+  model: ContextHelp;
 
-  constructor (model: ContextHelpModel) {
+  constructor (model: ContextHelp) {
     this.model = model;
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/app/shared/context-help.directive.ts b/src/app/shared/context-help.directive.ts
index 1d8bcccfa7..89e283715a 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/context-help.directive.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/context-help.directive.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,28 @@
-import { ComponentFactoryResolver, ComponentRef, Directive, ElementRef, Input, OnChanges, OnInit, TemplateRef, ViewContainerRef } from '@angular/core';
+import {
+  ComponentFactoryResolver,
+  ComponentRef,
+  Directive,
+  ElementRef,
+  Input,
+  OnChanges,
+  OnInit,
+  TemplateRef,
+  ViewContainerRef,
+  OnDestroy
+} from '@angular/core';
 import { PlacementArray } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap/util/positioning';
 import { ContextHelpWrapperComponent } from './context-help-wrapper/context-help-wrapper.component';
 import { PlacementDir } from './context-help-wrapper/placement-dir.model';
+import { ContextHelpService } from './context-help.service';
 
 export interface ContextHelpDirectiveInput {
   content: string;
+  id: string;
   tooltipPlacement?: PlacementArray;
   iconPlacement?: PlacementDir;
 }
 
-/*
+/**
  * Directive to add a clickable tooltip icon to an element.
  * The tooltip icon's position is configurable ('left' or 'right')
  * and so is the position of the tooltip itself (PlacementArray).
@@ -17,14 +30,15 @@ export interface ContextHelpDirectiveInput {
 @Directive({
   selector: '[dsContextHelp]',
 })
-export class ContextHelpDirective implements OnChanges {
-  /*
+export class ContextHelpDirective implements OnChanges, OnDestroy {
+  /**
    * Expects an object with the following fields:
    * - content: a string referring to an entry in the i18n files
    * - tooltipPlacement: a PlacementArray describing where the tooltip should expand, relative to the tooltip icon
    * - iconPlacement: a string 'left' or 'right', describing where the tooltip icon should be placed, relative to the element
    */
-  @Input() dsContextHelp: string | ContextHelpDirectiveInput;
+  @Input() dsContextHelp: ContextHelpDirectiveInput;
+  mostRecentId: string | undefined = undefined;
 
   protected wrapper: ComponentRef<ContextHelpWrapperComponent>;
 
@@ -32,19 +46,31 @@ export class ContextHelpDirective implements OnChanges {
     private templateRef: TemplateRef<any>,
     private viewContainerRef: ViewContainerRef,
     private componentFactoryResolver: ComponentFactoryResolver,
+    private contextHelpService: ContextHelpService
   ){}
 
   ngOnChanges() {
-    const input: ContextHelpDirectiveInput = typeof(this.dsContextHelp) === 'string'
-      ? {content: this.dsContextHelp}
-      : this.dsContextHelp;
+    this.clearMostRecentId();
+    this.mostRecentId = this.dsContextHelp.id;
+    this.contextHelpService.add({id: this.dsContextHelp.id}); // TODO: tooltipVisible field
 
     const factory
       = this.componentFactoryResolver.resolveComponentFactory(ContextHelpWrapperComponent);
     this.wrapper = this.viewContainerRef.createComponent(factory);
     this.wrapper.instance.templateRef = this.templateRef;
-    this.wrapper.instance.content = input.content;
-    this.wrapper.instance.tooltipPlacement = input.tooltipPlacement;
-    this.wrapper.instance.iconPlacement = input.iconPlacement;
+    this.wrapper.instance.content = this.dsContextHelp.content;
+    this.wrapper.instance.id = this.dsContextHelp.id;
+    this.wrapper.instance.tooltipPlacement = this.dsContextHelp.tooltipPlacement;
+    this.wrapper.instance.iconPlacement = this.dsContextHelp.iconPlacement;
+  }
+
+  ngOnDestroy() {
+    this.clearMostRecentId();
+  }
+
+  private clearMostRecentId(): void {
+    if (this.mostRecentId !== undefined) {
+      this.contextHelpService.remove(this.mostRecentId);
+    }
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/app/shared/context-help.model.ts b/src/app/shared/context-help.model.ts
index 4b2b344f60..9c024dbf1f 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/context-help.model.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/context-help.model.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-export class ContextHelpModel {
+export class ContextHelp {
   id: string;
-  tooltipVisible?: boolean = false;
+  isTooltipVisible?: boolean = false;
 }
diff --git a/src/app/shared/context-help.reducer.ts b/src/app/shared/context-help.reducer.ts
index b5f683956f..b705c797ac 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/context-help.reducer.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/context-help.reducer.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-import { ContextHelpModel } from './context-help.model';
+import { ContextHelp } from './context-help.model';
 import { ContextHelpAction, ContextHelpActionTypes } from './context-help.actions';
 
 export type ContextHelpModels = {
-  [id: string]: ContextHelpModel;
+  [id: string]: ContextHelp;
 };
 
 export interface ContextHelpState {
@@ -10,7 +10,10 @@ export interface ContextHelpState {
   models: ContextHelpModels;
 }
 
-export function contextHelpReducer(state: ContextHelpState, action: ContextHelpAction): ContextHelpState {
+// TODO
+const initialState: ContextHelpState = {allIconsVisible: true, models: {}};
+
+export function contextHelpReducer(state: ContextHelpState = initialState, action: ContextHelpAction): ContextHelpState {
   switch (action.type) {
     case ContextHelpActionTypes.CONTEXT_HELP_TOGGLE_ICONS: {
       return {...state, allIconsVisible: true};
@@ -41,7 +44,7 @@ export function contextHelpReducer(state: ContextHelpState, action: ContextHelpA
 function modifyTooltipVisibility(state: ContextHelpState, id: string, modify: (vis: boolean) => boolean)
   : ContextHelpState {
   const {[id]: matchingModel, ...otherModels} = state.models;
-  const modifiedModel = {...matchingModel, tooltipVisible: modify(matchingModel.tooltipVisible)};
+  const modifiedModel = {...matchingModel, isTooltipVisible: modify(matchingModel.isTooltipVisible)};
   const newModels = {...otherModels, [id]: modifiedModel};
   return {...state, models: newModels};
 }
diff --git a/src/app/shared/context-help.service.ts b/src/app/shared/context-help.service.ts
index 071308c713..7bbd1216e1 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/context-help.service.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/context-help.service.ts
@@ -1,33 +1,100 @@
 import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
-import { ContextHelpModel } from './context-help.model';
+import { ContextHelp } from './context-help.model';
+import { Store, createFeatureSelector, createSelector, select, MemoizedSelector } from '@ngrx/store';
+import { ContextHelpState } from './context-help.reducer';
+import {
+  ContextHelpToggleIconsAction,
+  ContextHelpAddAction,
+  ContextHelpRemoveAction,
+  ContextHelpShowTooltipAction,
+  ContextHelpHideTooltipAction,
+  ContextHelpToggleTooltipAction
+} from './context-help.actions';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+
+const contextHelpStateSelector =
+  createFeatureSelector<ContextHelpState>('contextHelp');
+const allIconsVisibleSelector = createSelector(
+  contextHelpStateSelector,
+  (state: ContextHelpState): boolean => state.allIconsVisible
+);
+const contextHelpSelector =
+  (id: string): MemoizedSelector<ContextHelpState, ContextHelp> => createSelector(
+    contextHelpStateSelector,
+    (state: ContextHelpState) => state.models[id]
+  );
 
 @Injectable({
   providedIn: 'root'
 })
 export class ContextHelpService {
-  constructor() { }
+  constructor(private store: Store<ContextHelpState>) { }
 
+  /**
+   * Observable keeping track of whether context help icons should be visible globally.
+   */
+  shouldShowIcons$(): Observable<boolean> {
+    return this.store.pipe(select(allIconsVisibleSelector));
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Observable that tracks the state for a specific context help icon.
+   *
+   * @param id: id of the context help icon.
+   */
+  getContextHelp$(id: string): Observable<ContextHelp> {
+    return this.store.pipe(select(contextHelpSelector(id)));
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Toggles the visibility of all context help icons.
+   */
   toggleIcons() {
-
+    this.store.dispatch(new ContextHelpToggleIconsAction());
   }
 
-  add(contextHelp: ContextHelpModel) {
-
+  /**
+   * Registers a new context help icon to the store.
+   *
+   * @param contextHelp: the initial state of the new help icon.
+   */
+  add(contextHelp: ContextHelp) {
+    this.store.dispatch(new ContextHelpAddAction(contextHelp));
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Removes a context help icon from the store.
+   *
+   * @id: the id of the help icon to be removed.
+   */
   remove(id: string) {
-
-  }
-
-  showTooltip(id: string) {
-
-  }
-
-  hideTooltip(id: string) {
-
+    this.store.dispatch(new ContextHelpRemoveAction(id));
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Toggles the tooltip of a single context help icon.
+   *
+   * @id: the id of the help icon for which the visibility will be toggled.
+   */
   toggleTooltip(id: string) {
+    this.store.dispatch(new ContextHelpToggleTooltipAction(id));
+  }
 
+  /**
+   * Shows the tooltip of a single context help icon.
+   *
+   * @id: the id of the help icon that will be made visible.
+   */
+  showTooltip(id: string) {
+    this.store.dispatch(new ContextHelpShowTooltipAction(id));
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Hides the tooltip of a single context help icon.
+   *
+   * @id: the id of the help icon that will be made invisible.
+   */
+  hideTooltip(id: string) {
+    this.store.dispatch(new ContextHelpHideTooltipAction(id));
   }
 }