Legal Deposit
Did you know that according to the law of the land if you produce a newsletter
or magazine of any description then you are legally required to deposit
a regular copy with the British Library, and if formally requested, then
also with, the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales, the Bodleian Library
Oxford, the University Library Cambridge and the Library of Trinity College
Dublin.
Since 6 April 2013 legal deposit also covers material published electronically, so that the Legal Deposit Libraries can maintain a national collection of e-journals, e-books, digitally published news, magazines and other types of content. This, it appears, has changed the BL's requirements as we are led to believe that if you are new to Legal Deposit (having never deposited your publication previously) you may be allowed to deposit an electronic copy.
Check out the British Library's own website for further details of what is or is not required - follow these links:
http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/legaldeposit/printedpubs/
http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/legaldeposit/websites/elecpubs/
http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/legaldeposit/websites/handheldpubs/
We can honestly tell you when we enquired we were told we had to deposit, both our magazine and the audio CD that we produce for the visually handicapped. Not only that but we were asked for copies of all back issues !!
Below is an extract taken directly from a publication issued by the
British Library.
What is Legal Deposit?
The principle of legal deposit has been well established for nearly four
centuries and has great advantages for authors and publishers. Publications
deposited with the libraries are made available to registered users, are
preserved for the benefit of future generations, and become part of the
national heritage. Legal deposit is the act of depositing published material
in designated libraries. Publishers and distributors in the United Kingdom
and in Ireland have a legal obligation to deposit published material in
the six legal deposit libraries which collectively maintain the national
published archive of the British Isles. Publishers are obliged to send one
copy of each of their publications to the British Library within one month
of publication. The other five libraries have the right to claim items.
In practice many publishers deposit their publications with all six libraries
without waiting for a claim to be made.
What is it based on?
In the United Kingdom, the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, and, in Ireland,
the Copyright Act of 1963 (to be replaced by similar provisions in the Copyright
and Related Rights Act, 2000) make it obligatory for publishers and distributors
in the United Kingdom and Ireland to deposit their publications.
What is included?
All printed publications come within the scope of legal deposit. Under the
Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, electronic publications will also come
into scope. This will be effected in due course through secondary legislation
which will be introduced incrementally through government Regulations, format
by format, as recommended to the Secretary of State by an Advisory Panel.
In the meantime, a code of practice exists in the United Kingdom for the
voluntary deposit of electronic publications, and also for microform and
other non-printed publications. In Ireland, the Copyright and Related Rights
Act 2000 proposes to extend legal deposit to electronic formats.
How is information about publications made available?
Publications are recorded in the catalogues of the six legal deposit libraries.
The catalogues are accessible on the World Wide Web and will remain essential
research tools 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. All the legal deposit
libraries contribute to BNB, which has a world-wide distribution.
What is a publisher?
Within the terms of the Legal Deposit Libraries and Copyright Acts, “publisher”
is understood to be anyone who issues publications to the public.
What are publishers required to deposit?
Items published
and distributed in the United Kingdom and in Ireland are liable for deposit.
The requirement remains, irrespective of the number of copies in a published
edition, the price of individual copies, or the size of the publishing body.
Items originally published elsewhere but distributed in the United Kingdom
and in Ireland are also liable for deposit. Every issue of a periodical,
journal or newspaper should be deposited. Published maps and sheet music
should also be deposited.
A full copy of the publication this extract was taken from, and a copy of the 'Legal Deposit Act' are available
for downloading from the "Documentation" link on this site.