Consultation on the Draft Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-print Publications) Regulations 2011

The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 reaffirmed existing provisions for the deposit of printed publications whereby a copy of each book or serial or other printed publication which is published in the UK is required to be deposited free of charge, in the British Library.

In addition, five other libraries (the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales, and the University libraries of Oxford, Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin) are each entitled to receive, on request, one free copy of any book or other printed publication published in the UK. These libraries, together with the British Library, are collectively known as the Legal Deposit Libraries.

The 2003 Act also created a framework in which Regulations could be made to extend the system of legal deposit to cover various non-print media as they develop, including off  line publications (e.g. CD ROMS and microforms), on line publications (e.g. e-journals). This will ensure that publications of significance are deposited, regardless of the medium in which they are published, and are preserved as part of the national archive of UK publications, so as to remain available to future generations of eligible users.

The Legal Deposit Advisory Panel (LDAP), an independent non-departmental public body, was set up in September 2005 to work at arm’s length from government, to advise on the implementation of the 2003 Act and to make recommendations on regulatory options for the deposit of non-print publications.

At the beginning of March 2010, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills completed a public consultation, based on recommendations from LDAP, on the legal deposit of off line publications and on line publications which are available free of charge and without access restrictions. The consultation ran from December 2009 to March 2010 and we received 57 responses. At the end of March 2010, we received LDAP’s proposals for commercial and protected on line publications.

This consultation sets out our draft Regulations, Guidance and Impact Assessments for the legal deposit on all non-print works. We are seeking your views on all aspects of the proposals and have also set some specific questions to which we would welcome your answers. The questionnaire will be available for you to complete on line shortly.

The government response to this consultation was published on 5 April 2011.

A Welsh language version of the consultation document is also supplied.