Legal Deposit in the British Library
Publishers and distributors in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland have a legal obligation to send one copy of each of their publications to the Legal Deposit Office of the British Library within one month of publication.
News updates
17 April 2012 British Library submits response to DCMS Consultation on the Draft Legal Deposit Libraries (non-print works) Regulations 2013. See 'PDF files'
07 April 2011: The Legal Deposit Libraries have welcomed the Government’s response to the public consultation on the ‘draft regulations and guidance for non-print legal deposit’ and its commitment to deliver regulations for non-print content. See statement.
20 Dec 2010: British Library submit response to DCMS Consultation on 'the Draft Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Publications) Regulations 2011'. See 'PDF files'.
01 Dec 2010: Implementing the draft regulations for non-print legal deposit: technica1 FAQ. See 'PDF files'.
31 Mar 2010: Technical guidance notes for publishers depositing electronic journals under the voluntary scheme. See ‘In this section’.
01 Mar 2010: Updated code for the voluntary deposit of UK offline and microform publications. See ‘In this section’.
08 Dec 2009: DCMS public consultation on proposals for depositing UK offline and microform publications and for archiving the UK “free web”. See ‘External links’.
Introduction and background
Legal deposit for printed books and papers has existed in English law since 1662. It helps to ensure that the nation’s published output (and thereby its intellectual record and future published heritage) is collected systematically, and as comprehensively as possible, both in order to preserve the material for the use of future generations and to make it available for readers within the designated legal deposit libraries. These are the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the Bodleian Library Oxford, the Library of Cambridge University and the Library of Trinity College Dublin.
The legal deposit system also has benefits for authors and publishers:
- Publications deposited with the British Library are made available to users in its various Reading Rooms, are preserved for the benefit of future generations, and become part of the national heritage.
- Publications are recorded in the online catalogue, and will remain an essential research tool for generations to come.
- Most of the books and new serial titles are listed in the British National Bibliography (BNB), which is used by librarians and the book trade for stock selection, is available on CD-ROM in MARC Exchange formats, and has a world-wide distribution.
Legal deposit in the UK is governed by the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003. There are also reciprocal arrangements with the Republic of Ireland under its Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000. See ‘External links’ for both Acts.
Deposit of printed publications
The right of the British Library to receive one copy of every publication distributed in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland is based on the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 in the UK and the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 in the Republic of Ireland.
Within the terms of the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, 'publisher' is to be understood as anyone who issues or distributes publications to the public. Items published in the United Kingdom and in Ireland are liable for deposit, as are items originally published elsewhere but distributed in the United Kingdom and in Ireland. The requirement for deposit remains, irrespective of the place of publication or printing, the nature and size of the imprint, or the extent of its distribution.
This obligation applies to any book, pamphlet, magazine, newspaper, sheet of letterpress or music, map, plan, chart or table, and similar works. However publishers are not required to deposit the following categories of material unless a written demand for them is made by the British Library:
- Internal reports
- Examination papers
- Local transport timetables
- Appointment diaries; wall and desk calendars; posters
Deposit of microfilm and offline electronic publications
Under a voluntary code agreed with representatives from publishing trade associations, publishers and distributors in the United Kingdom are requested, but not obliged, to send one copy of each of their microform and offline electronic publications (i.e. hand-held items such as CD-ROM or DVD-ROM) to the Legal Deposit Office of the British Library within one month of publication. The voluntary code was first established in January 2000 and was updated in 2010 following recommendations to the Secretary of State by the Legal Deposit Advisory Panel. Operation of the code is governed by the Joint Committee on Legal Deposit (JCLD).
Within the voluntary code, and to be consistent with the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, 'publisher' is understood as anyone who issues or distributes publications to the public. Therefore the code covers items published in the United Kingdom and items originally published elsewhere but distributed in the United Kingdom.
Deposit of online and other electronic publications
The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 introduced a framework in which the Secretary of State may make regulations for the deposit of non-print works. The Legal Deposit Advisory Panel (LDAP) was set up in 2005 as an advisory non-departmental public body (NDPB) to advise the Secretary of State on such matters. In December 2009, the Department for Culture Media and Sport launched a public consultation on the first proposals arising from LDAP’s recommendations, for archiving UK online publications that are available free of charge and without access restriction (the UK “free web”). It is expected that separate proposals will also be produced for UK Commercial and Protected Online Publications, following further recommendations from LDAP.
In the meantime, and pending the implementation of formal regulations, the British Library is keen to encourage deposit of online or “pure electronic” items, which can be managed through our developing digital storage solution:
- For UK publishers of scholarly electronic journals, a voluntary deposit scheme was initiated in 2007 by the British Library and representatives from publishing trade associations and the other legal deposit libraries, under the auspices of LDAP and the Joint Committee on Legal Deposit. Its aim is to develop processes for supporting the deposit of e-journal publications and for providing access within specified constraints, and further information about its Scope is available ‘In this section’. The British Library is contacting individual publishers to request their participation in the scheme; if you wish to participate, technical guidance notes are also available ‘In this section’ but, in the first instance, please contact our Legal Deposit Digital Acquisitions Co-ordinator, Andrew Davis.
- Website owners and rights holders are encouraged to give copyright permission for the British Library to make snapshot copies of their website at regular intervals for the UK Web Archive. Selective archiving of UK websites (with permission) was started in 2005 in collaboration with the Joint Information Systems Committee, the National Archives, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales and the Wellcome Library. Approximately 6,000 websites in 22,000 instances (snapshots) have been archived and are freely available for searching. See ‘External links’ for the UK Web Archive and further information. If you wish to participate, please visit http://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/info/nominate
Additional information for publishers
International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs)
An ISBN is a 13-digit code which identifies a specific edition of a book title from one specific publisher and is unique to that edition.
ISBNs for UK publishers are issued by:
UK International Standard Book Numbering Agency
3rd Floor
Midas House
62 Goldsworth Road
Woking
GU21 6LQ
Tel: +44 (0)870 777 8712
Fax: +44 (0)870777 8714
Email: isbn.agency@nielsen.com
Web: www.isbn.nielsenbookdata.co.uk
International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSNs)
An ISSN is an 8-digit code which identifies a serial publication, i.e. a publication issued in successive parts, having a common title, and intended to be continued indefinitely. ISSNs are issued by:
ISSN UK Centre
The British Library
Boston Spa
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7BQ
Tel: +44 (0)1937 546959
Fax: +44 (0)1937 546562
Email: issn-uk@bl.uk
Contacts
Addresses of the British Library Legal Deposit Offices
All printed and microform publications (with the exception of newspapers) should be sent to:
Legal Deposit Office
The British Library
Boston Spa
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7BY
Tel: +44 (0)1937 546268 (monographs) / 546267 (serials)
Fax: +44 (0)1937-546176
Email: legal-deposit-books@bl.uk
Email: legal-deposit-serials@bl.uk
Newspapers should be sent to:
Newspapers Legal Deposit Office
The British Library
Boston Spa
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7BY
Tel: +44 (0)1937 546409
Email: LDO.newspapers@bl.uk
Offline Electronic publications should be sent to:
E-media Processing Team
The British Library
Boston Spa
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7BY
Tel: +44 (0)1937 546018
Email: LDO-Electronic@bl.uk
Other Legal Deposit libraries
The deposit regulations of the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, with slightly different conditions, apply also to the other five legal deposit libraries:
- Bodleian Library, Oxford
- University Library, Cambridge
- National Library of Scotland
- Library of Trinity College, Dublin
- National Library of Wales
The Agent for the Legal Deposit Libraries is responsible for acquiring legal deposit material for these libraries. Enquiries about deposit with these libraries should be addressed to:
Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries
161 Causewayside
Edinburgh
EH9 1PH
Tel: +44 (0)131 623 4680
Fax: +44 (0)131 623 4681
Email: publisher.enquiries@legaldeposit.org.uk
