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Legal deposit

Legal deposit (also termed ‘dépôt légal’ or ‘mandatory deposit’) is a statutory provision which obliges publishers to deposit copies of their publications in libraries in the country in which they are published. The principle of legal deposit is established in international convention and in the national legislation of many countries, and aims to ensure that access to a nation's published cultural material in libraries and archives is preserved.

Increasingly, material is being published in digital form: this material needs to be collected and preserved to ensure a complete record of a nation's published cultural material. The existence of networks, and the ease with which digital information may be distributed and copied, potentially enables multiple accesses to a single deposited piece of digital information. If legal deposit is applied to digital information, the protection of publishers' rights and investments needs to be considered. Information which is available online poses a further challenge as there is no physical item to 'deposit'.

Legal deposit legislation in many countries predates the current information age and requires a new legal framework in order to encompass digital publications. The complications associated with the collection and control of electronic materials, together with the lack of a comprehensive legal model, have made drafting appropriate legislation problematic and slow. Major issues to be considered include copyright, preservation requirements, public access, scope of coverage, method of collection, protection of publishers' rights, penalties, and implementation of revised legislation.

Countries that have enacted legislation that covers all forms of digital publication (physical format and online), or that have a legislative process in train to accomplish this, include the following:

  • Canada
  • Denmark (static online publications)
  • New Zealand
  • Norway (static online publications)
  • South Africa
  • United Kingdom

Countries that have legislation in place that currently applies to physical format but not online digital publications, include the following:

  • Austria
  • France
  • Germany
  • Sweden

The legislation from these countries can be used as a guide or model by other countries wishing to amend their own Legal Deposit laws. More specific information about national approaches is available in the country entries that follow.

Other information that follows which will also assist national libraries considering action to amend their legislation includes:

  • Guidelines on preparing proposals
  • Survey reports on the Legal Deposit status and intentions of countries
  • Discussion papers on issues associated with extending legal deposit to digital publications
  • Case studies and experiences of specific countries in implementing revised legislation.

Internationally, voluntary deposit schemes are also being negotiated between national libraries and publishers as a means of collecting digital publications where legal deposit legislation is not in place. Current trends suggest that in some instances these voluntary codes will become permanent, especially where governments prove reluctant to change laws and if legal deposit is afforded a low priority for amendment. The Netherlands does not have any legal deposit laws, having always relied on voluntary deposit arrangements which have also been negotiated for digital information. Other voluntary schemes currently operate or are under development in Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia. In addition, a model code has been developed by the Conference of European National Librarians and the Federation of European Publishers to facilitate the drafting of locally-endorsed voluntary deposit arrangements.

Some specific information about legal deposit of digital publications which relates to individual countries has been collected on this site:

Australia | Austria | Canada | Denmark | Finland | France | Japan | The Netherlands | New Zealand | Norway | South Africa | Sweden | United Kingdom | U.S.A. |

Australia

Under the Copyright Act, 1968, s. 201 (and various State Acts), one copy each of library materials published in Australia must be deposited with the National Library of Australia and the appropriate State library. For the purposes of Section 201, library material is defined as 'a book, periodical, newspaper, pamphlet, sheet of letter-press, sheet of music, map, plan, chart or table, being a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work'. The Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000, which came into effect on 4 March 2001, made no changes to these legal deposit provisions.

Current Commonwealth statutes do not cover electronic publications, therefore, although some States have legislation which includes some components of this category. No state has legislation which covers networked information, although relevant Acts in Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria define library materials more inclusively. In Tasmania, electronic publications and web pages are included in the broad definition of 'records' that are required for deposit under Section 22 of the Libraries Act 1984. These are stored and made accessible through the State Library of Tasmania's Our Digital Island website.

To cover the gap in federal legal deposit law, the National Library of Australia has implemented an interim Voluntary Deposit Scheme for Electronic Publications, together with a Policy on the Use of Australian CD-ROMs and Other Electronic Materials Acquired by Deposit, which strictly controls access to these publications, in recognition of the interests of publishers.

Prior to these initiatives, in 1995, the National Library and the National Film and Sound Archive made a joint submission to the Copyright Law Review Committee seeking:

  • endorsement of the principle of legal deposit
  • recognition of the principle of selection by the depository institution
  • the extension of the scope of publications covered by legislation to include all electronic formats
  • the extension of the definition of the term "publication".

In February 1999, the Copyright Law Review Committee released its report, Simplification of the Copyright ACT 1968. Part 2. Categorisation of subject matter and exclusive rights, and other issues. Legal deposit is dealt with as Issue 13. The following were among the numerous recommendations relating to legal deposit:

  • the definition of 'library material' be broadened to include audiovisual materials, and materials in electronic form
  • deposit of all materials remain compulsory
  • the National Library and the National Film and Sound Archive should not need to seek the authorisation of the copyright owner with respect to the storage of deposited material
  • under the revised scheme deposited materials be made available on the basis of restricted access; hard copy and electronic material should only be available for inspection at the repository institution

These recommendations, however, as they apply to legal deposit, were not incorporated into the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000.

Austria

In Austria, new media legislation (Novelle zum Mediengesetz) was enacted in September 2000, which broadens legal deposit provisions to include physical format digital materials. The new laws were not extended, however, to cover the deposit of online and networked digital material. In response to this legislative gap, the AOLA (Austrian Online Archive) project has been established to investigate the challenges associated with the collection and archiving of online publications. The system, which is being developed by the Austrian National Library and the Technical University of Vienna's Department of Software Technology, will archive snapshots of Austrian webspace through periodic harvesting of publicly available websites.

Canada

Legal deposit in Canada is covered in the National Library Act and the National Library Book Deposit Regulations, 1995. The original legislation applied primarily to books but has been extended over the years to include serial publications, sound recordings, multimedia kits, microforms, video recordings, CD-ROMs and, in 1995, to other electronic publications issued in physical formats. There are a number of legal and copyright issues that need to be resolved before the legislation can be applied to online electronic documents. Such documents are covered by the very broad definition of 'books' in the Act; however the issue of concern is whether they qualify as being 'published'.

In 1994-95, Canada conducted an Electronic Publications Pilot Project (EPPP) to examine the issue of the deposit of online electronic publications. After completion of this project and recommendations by the project team, the National Library has continued to collect electronic publications on a voluntary deposit basis. The emphasis is on publications not available in any other format.

Denmark

Denmark's Act on Copyright Deposit of Published Works came into effect on 1 January 1998, replacing the former Copyright Deposit of Printed Matter to Public Libraries Act, 1927. Under the revised legislation, all published material is subject to legal deposit, regardless of the production technique or type of carrier. To encompass emerging technologies, the emphasis of the legislation has shifted from printers of documents to publishers of documentary materials in the broadest sense, including physical format digital and static internet publications. As some technical and copyright issues remain unresolved, dynamic online electronic documents have not yet been specifically included in Danish law.

The Royal Library of Denmark acts as the deposit institution for Danish maps, electronic products and internet publications. A legal deposit registration system for downloading deposit documents has been created in collaboration with UNI-C, a government data research institute. Publishers supply details of electronic products being submitted on deposit to the system, from which the Royal Library extracts internet addresses for the materials and downloads them into a secure database. The downloaded material is viewable only on a stand-alone computer in the Library and cannot be copied by users.

Finland

Finland's current Legal Deposit Act was passed in 1980 and covers printed and audiovisual material. During 1997-98, a working group, established by the Ministry of Education, undertook a revision of the Act. The proposed revisions include provisions for the legal deposit of both physical format and online electronic information. However, online electronic information is divided into two categories: material considered to be 'true' electronic publications (such as electronic books and newspaper and periodical articles), which would be required to be deposited; and material available online without restriction, which would be collected automatically by harvester. The Report of the Committee Preparing the Legal Deposit Act was issued in 2000, but further progress on the proposed legislation awaits the issue of a general directive on copyright by the European Union.

France

French legal deposit legislation was revised in 1992 (the Loi du 20 juin 1992 relative au dépôt légal) and came into force on 1 January 1994. This law requires legal deposit of printed, graphic, photographic, sound, audiovisual and multimedia documents, whatever the technical means of production, as soon as they are made accessible to the public by the publication of a physical carrier. Legal deposit of CD-ROMs has been enforced since 1994, and access policies restrict their use to the Library's stand-alone workstations, with downloading prohibited.

To date, deposit provisions do not cover online electronic publications, and no incentives exist for the voluntary deposit of non-physical format digital materials. In July 2000, the French legal deposit advisory body, the Conseil scientifique du dépôt légal (CSDL), recommended to the Minister of Culture that legal deposit legislation be extended to include online materials. To add further impetus to this recommendation, the Bibliothèque nationale de France's own work in developing a management system for the archiving of electronic materials has also highlighted the need to incorporate digital publications in legal deposit legislation.

Germany

In Germany, publishers are obliged to lodge legal deposit copies of their publications in Die Deutsche Bibliothek, including physical format digital materials. Online publications are not yet subject to deposit provisions, but since 1998 have been the focus of a trial three to five year voluntary deposit program, being undertaken on behalf of the Task Group on the Electronic Deposit Library. The interim findings of the Task Group, which is comprised of representatives of the DDB and five German publishing houses, were received positively by the Publishers' Committee of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels in March 2000.

As a result of the Task Group's report, guidelines for the deposit of networked digital publications were issued. Collection guidelines, procedures for notification and processing, and methods for dealing with copyright and access issues have been incorporated into the system. In 2001, the DDB is developing an automatic collection process for online materials, and the creation of standard contracts for regulating the use of such deposit materials, to replace the individual agreements which currently exist between the DDB and publishers, is under consideration.

Japan

Legal deposit in Japan is covered by the National Diet Library Law, 1948 (as amended 1949). Under this statute copies of Japanese books, pamphlets, serials, musical scores, maps and phonographic records are required to be deposited in the National Diet Library, in return for which publishers are compensated the cost of printing and postage.

In 1997 an expert body was convened to investigate the establishment and administration of a legal deposit system for digital publications. The Legal Deposit System Research Council's final report was issued in 1999, recommending that physical format digital publications be incorporated into legal deposit law, but that networked digital material be acquired selectively and by individual contract. In response to the these recommendations, amendments to relevant deposit provisions were being prepared by the NDL in 2000-2001.

Ahead of any legislative changes, a new Legal Deposit System Council has operated since April 1999 to manage and suggest improvements to the existing deposit scheme. The Council has reported on appropriate compensation for publishers of deposited packaged electronic publications, and has been active in liaising with libraries in Japan and other countries on issues pertinent to the NDL's proposed electronic library, which is expected to be functional in 2002.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is one of the few countries in the world that does not have legal deposit legislation; instead, deposit is voluntary and based on bilateral agreements with publishers. Following an extended period of negotiation, most Dutch printed material is now deposited with the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library of the Netherlands).

In 1993, the Depot van Nederlandse Elecktronische Publicaties (DNEP) project to build a system for the deposit of the country's digital publications was established. Negotiations with the Dutch Publishers Association (NUV) to create a voluntary deposit scheme for electronic publications began in 1994, and storage of offline materials such as CD-ROMs and magnetic and optical disks followed in 1996.

In 1999, a general arrangement for the voluntary deposit of electronic publications was concluded between the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and the NUV, for both online and offline materials. Dynamic databases, whilst covered by the agreement, will not be sought on deposit until technical and other problems associated with their collection, storage and access are fully addressed. At present the arrangement is an experimental one, subject to three-yearly review, with the first evaluation due on or before 1 July 2002.

A tender for the supply of a comprehensive DNEP system, to provide for the long-term preservation and access to electronic deposit materials, was issued in 2000. The enhanced system is expected to be fully operational in 2001, although comprehensive coverage of the nation's digital output is not expected for five to ten years. Access to electronic deposit publications will be available from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek's premises only, as copyright agreements with publishers will not allow the DNEP to provide remote access.

New Zealand

In New Zealand legal deposit is covered in Part 4 of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa Act 2003 which came into force on 5 May 2003. It replaces the National Library Act 1965.

The 2003 legislation applies to public documents (defined in the Act) issued in print, or electronic (physical format or online) form. It provides for the deposit of physical format documents and for the copying of Internet documents.

Any terms and conditions as to format and public access associated with deposited public documents are specified in a Notice of Requirement issued in the Gazette. Before a Requirement relating to electronic documents is notified, consultation must take place with publishers or their representatives likely to be affected by the proposed Requirement. (Consultation is not required on the deposit of books to which section 30A of the previous Act would have applied if it had not been repealed.)

The Act also permits Library staff to "possess, copy, store in electronic form (whether off-line or on-line), and use" a document given to or made by the Library. In addition, Section 34 (3) of the Act specifies that the Library may make up to three copies of a deposited document available for use by members of the public, on or off the Library's own premises. However, a document must not be made available on the Internet except if it has been made publicly available there by the publisher without restriction. In this case, the Library may make the document available on the Internet for access and use by the public.

The law relating to copyright applies to every deposited document except in the case of copying and making available Internet documents which are treated as exceptions to copyright law.

Until the Requirement relating to electronic documents comes into force, electronic documents in physical format continue to be purchased or obtained by voluntary deposit through standard acquisition processes.

Currently the Library is developing its processes for the selection, acquisition, harvesting, description, storage and provision of access to physical format and online electronic documents. A selection database has been developed and test harvesting of websites has been undertaken. There is still substantial work required to develop the tools for processing websites to meet the criteria laid out by curators for determining and endorsing the final status of the object which is to be archived and preserved.

This work is being done in the light of similar projects underway internationally including the National Library of Australia's PANDORA project (for selective web harvesting), the Royal Library of Sweden's Kulturarw3 project (for whole-of-domain harvesting), the Nordic Web Archive (for whole-of-domain harvesting) and the Library of Congress's Minerva project (for selective web harvesting).

Norway

The Norwegian Legal Deposit Act (Pliktavleveringsloven) of 9 June 1989 came into effect on 1 July 1990. The statute applies to printed materials, sound recordings, films, videos, and certain digital publications. Physical format electronic documents and static internet documents are encompassed by the provisions, but dynamic electronic resources are not specifically included. The legislation, which covers any works which can be read, heard, broadcast or transmitted, is written in such a way that it will also be applicable to future electronic formats.

South Africa

South Africa's Legal Deposit Act, 1997 came into operation on 1 July 1998, and is administered by the Department of Art, Culture, Science & Technology's Subdirectorate of Meta-information. The broad definition of 'document' and interpretation of the term 'medium' enables the Act to apply to electronic publications available in both physical format and online. In the legislation 'document' is defined as 'any object which is intended to store or convey information in textual, graphic, visual, auditory or other intelligible format through any medium …'. A 'medium' is interpreted as 'any means of recording or transmitting information intended for subsequent reading, listening or viewing'. Due to the technical and administrative challenges associated with the deposit of dynamic electronic publications, online electronic materials are presently only subject to deposit when specifically requested by the State Library of Pretoria.

Sweden

The Legal Deposit Act of 1993 (and 1995 amendment) requires legal deposit of electronic documents available in physical format, such as optical disks. Online electronic documents, like those found on the internet, are not covered by this legislation. A printed report on the collection of online documents was released in January 1999, and in 2000 amendments to legal deposit provisions were discussed as part of a research and development bill (Forskning och förnyelse).

The Royal Library of Sweden instituted the Kulturarw3 (Cultural Heritage Cubed) project in 1996. This project is investigating the long-term preservation of published electronic documents. It approaches the collection of electronic information by actively harvesting as much as possible in the first instance, then weeding out what is not wanted. A special decree by the Swedish government, accepted on May 8, 2002, authorises the Royal Library of Sweden to collect Swedish web sites on the Internet and to allow the public access to the archive within the library premises.

United Kingdom

Under the United Kingdom's Copyright Act 1911, publishers have a legal obligation to send one copy of each of their publications to the British Library and five other designated deposit libraries. The statutory requirements do not currently cover digital information, which is why in 1996 the British Library submitted to the then Department of National Heritage proposals for the extension of legal deposit to non-print material.

As a result of these proposals, and following a public consultation process, in January 1998 the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport set up a Working Party on Legal Deposit. The Working Party's report was published in December 1998 and recommended that a code of practice for the voluntary deposit of electronic publications should be drafted, but that in the longer term statutory deposit would be required in order to secure a comprehensive national published archive. The resultant Code of Practice for the Voluntary Deposit of Non-Print Publications came into effect in January 2000, endorsed by the various UK publisher trade bodies and legal deposit libraries. At present, the arrangement only provides for the deposit of microfilms, physical format digital publications and other offline electronic media, but the challenges for the deposit of static and dynamic online publications are also recognised in the guidelines. Before moving towards legislation, the Secretary of State has established a technical group to oversee further work on issues involved, including the testing by publishers and libraries of deposit systems for online publications, and the completion of a feasibility study on secure networking and access control which commenced in 2000.

Taking into account the outcomes of the work of this group, revised legal deposit legislation has been drafted. The Legal Deposit Libraries Bill passed through the House of Commons in July 2003 and will go before the House of Lords in September 2003. The Bill will amend section 15 of the Copyright Act 1911.

U.S.A.

In the United States mandatory deposit requirements are found in Section 407 of the Copyright Act of 1976. These provisions are equivalent to the legal deposit laws that operate in other countries. Through the Code of Federal Regulations, certain categories of materials are exempted from deposit requirements. The exemption for material published solely in machine readable form was revoked in 1988, from which time deposit has been required of certain publicly available physical format electronic material, such as magnetic tapes, CD-ROMs and microforms. For CD-ROMs the complete package is required: this includes all accompanying documentation and a printed version if it is available. Voluntary CD-ROM agreements stipulating how the Library can use items deposited in this format were introduced in 1993. Mandatory deposit is not yet applied to online electronic works.

Text last updated: July 2003

Guidelines | Surveys | General | Africa | Algeria | Australia | Austria | Canada | Denmark | Finland | France | Japan | Netherlands | Norway | South Africa | Sweden | United Kingdom | United States of America

Guidelines

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European Convention for the Protection of the Audiovisual Heritage and Protocol on the Protection of Television Productions ...
Council of Europe (Date Created: 06 Feb 2001)
This convention, which was issued by the European parliament in February 2001, provides for the safeguarding and preservation of European moving image heritage. Parties to the agreement are obliged to introduce legal or voluntary mechanisms for the deposit of audiovisual media in designated archival repositories in their territories. The text is broadly worded so that the legislation will apply to electronic and other new forms of audiovisual expression as they are created.
http://www.coe.int/t/e/cultural_co-operation/culture/Resources/Referen
ce_texts/Conventions/econpataud.asp
The legal deposit of electronic publications
Working Group of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL) (Last Updated: 6 Mar 1997)
This paper suggests guidelines for National Libraries on how to prepare proposals for the legal deposit of electronic publications and how to store and maintain such publications. Included is a summary of developments worldwide and case studies from Canada, France and the USA.
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/memory/legaldep.htm

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Surveys

Management of Networked Electronic Publications: A Table of Status in Various Countries
Martin, Elizabeth (Last Updated: Nov 2001)
A comparison of national libraries in sixteen countries on matters of deposit legislation and arrangements, approach and policy, plans, negotiations with publishers, access arrangements and implementation for networked electronic publications. The document is suppplied in PDF format.
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/obj/r7/f2/r7-100-e.pdf
Available in French at http://nlc-bnc.ca/obj/r7/f2/r7-100-f.pdf
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NEDLIB Local Situations
Borbinha, Jose Luis; Cardoso, Fernando; National Library of Portugal (Date Created: Jul 2000)
This report outlines the nature and regulation of digital publications (physical format and online) for each of the NEDLIB partner institutions. This includes information on the legal framework, cataloging practices, infrastructure, workflows, specific digital preservation approaches and other allied initiatives.
http://www.kb.nl/coop/nedlib/results/local_situations_v2.htm

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General

ALPSP Seminar: 9th Publishing and the Internet Seminar: Archiving - Whose Problem Is It?
The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (Date Created: 28 Jan 2002)
The proceedings of a seminar designed to encourage cooperation between libraries, archives and commercial content providers in the European sector. The conference page links to Powerpoints and presentation aids from the conference. Speakers included Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive, The British Library, Neil Beagrie, Programme Director, Digital Preservation Coalition/JISC, legal experts, and representatives of the commercial publishing industry.
http://www.alpsp.org/s291102.htm
Archiving the Web - Some Legal Aspects
Kavcic-Colic, Alenka (Date Created: 21 Aug 2002)
A paper presented at the 68th IFLA General Conference and Council held in Glasgow, 18-24 August, 2002, discussing some legal aspects of archiving publications from the web. Copyright and legal deposit legislation are discussed with regard to rights implications for harvesting, public access and long-term preservation.
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/116-163e.pdf
Also available in French at http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/116-163f.pdf
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Copyright aspects of the preservation of electronic publications
Groeneveld, C.; Hugenholtz, P. B.; Koelman, K. J.; Westerbrink, B. N. (Date Created: 15 Feb 1998)
Instituut voor Informatierecht Report - 7. This is the report of a study commissioned by the National Library of the Netherlands. It examines "the copyright related problems which could impede efforts to preserve and maintain the accessibility of electronic data".
ISBN: 9074243-12-6
http://www.ivir.nl/publications/koelman/kbeng2.doc
ECDL 2001 Workshop - What's next for Digital Deposit Libraries? Preserving Online Content for Future Generations - Papers
Lupovici, Catherine; Masanès, Julien (Date Created: 26 Sep 2001)
This web site contains links to presentations given at the ECDL 2001 Workshop on September 8, 2001 in Darmstadt, Germany. Topics focus on legal deposit and the internet, web harvesting and archiving.
http://www.bnf.fr/pages/infopro/dli_ECDL2001.htm
Implementing Legal Deposit of Electronic Publications in Africa: Progress Report from South Africa and Namibia
Letshela, Phegello Z; Lor, Peter J (Date Created: 20 Aug 2002)
A paper presented at the 68th IFLA General Conference and Council held in Glasgow, 18-24 August, 2002, providing a progress report on implementation of legal deposit legislation for electronic publications in Africa. With a legal framework already in place, the report focusses on achievements so far, problems and challenges in implementation, plans and actions taken to overcome these obstacles and possible assistance from successful implementations.
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/072-124e.pdf
Legal deposit and preservation of digital publications: a review of research and development activity
Muir, Adrienne (Date Created: Sep 2001)
A review of legal deposit laws and digital preservation strategies.
Journal of Documentation, Vol. 57, No. 5, pp. 652-682
Management of Networked Electronic Publications: A Table of Status in Various Countries
Martin, Elizabeth (Last Updated: Nov 2001)
A comparison of national libraries in sixteen countries on matters of deposit legislation and arrangements, approach and policy, plans, negotiations with publishers, access arrangements and implementation for networked electronic publications. The document is suppplied in PDF format.
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/obj/r7/f2/r7-100-e.pdf
Available in French at http://nlc-bnc.ca/obj/r7/f2/r7-100-f.pdf
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Preserving the Present for the Future : Strategies for the Internet : Proceedings
Denmark's Electronic Research Library (Date Created: 22 Jun 2001) Has papers: Legal Deposit from the Internet in Denmark : Experiences with the Law from 1997 and the Need for Adjustments
Papers from the Preserving the Present for the Future : Strategies for the Internet conference, held at the Royal Library, Copenhagen, 18-19 June 2001.
http://www.deflink.dk/eng/arkiv/dokumenter2.asp?id=695
A standard for the legal deposit of online publications
Bergamin, Giovanni (Date Created: 4 Jun 1999)
Abstract in English; abstract in Italian available at: http://www.aib.it/aib/commiss/cnur/dliberga.htm
http://www.aib.it/aib/commiss/cnur/dleberga.htm
Safekept
State of Legal Deposit Legislation
Deanna Marcum (Date Created: Jan 2000)
This paper, presented at Digital Archiving: Bringing Issues and Stakeholders Together Workshop, Paris, 30-31 January 2000, examines the legal deposit challenges of the digital environment. The need for a new legal mechanism for capturing and preserving eIectronic information is emphasised, and the issues of intellectual property rights, digital preservation, distributed repositories, authenticity and the changing relationships between publishers and libraries are addressed.
http://www.icsti.org/2000workshop/marcum.html
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Statement on the Development and Establishment of Codes of Practice for the Voluntary Deposit of Electronic Publications
Conference of European National Librarians (Date Created: 2000)
Official joint statement by the Conference of European National Librarians and the Federation of European publishers on the development of voluntary deposit arrangements for electronic publications. A draft Code of Practice, to facilitate the drafting of locally-endorsed voluntary deposit arrangements, is included in the paper.
http://minos.bl.uk/gabriel/fep/
New TEL Digital Deposits : State of the Art Review
de Niet, Marco (Date Created: Dec 2001)
This report gives an overview of the current digital deposit practices at national libraries throughout Europe. The report is based on a questionnaire which was sent to all 41 members of the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL). The report recommends a number of issues to be discussed by libraries in order to align their legal deposit practices. This report is followed up by the Report on Current Practices Among Publishers Regarding the Deposit of Digital Publications which includes a corresponding survey of the major publishers of digital publications whose names have been supplied by the CENL libraries.
http://www.europeanlibrary.org/pdf/tel_results_d11_v02.pdf
European Library Project WP1 - publisher relations, DEL/007
Workshop on issues in the field of national deposit collections of electronic publications
Telematics for Libraries, European Commission (Date Created: 18 Dec 1995)
The establishment of deposit collections of electronic publications is a keystone in the strategy of long-term availability. This workshop brought together European national libraries, publishers and experts to discuss deposit collections of electronic publications. It was recognised that pilot projects need to develop practical solutions to the many questions remaining to be resolved in all areas of electronic deposit.
http://www.cordis.lu/libraries/en/depo-rpt.html

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Africa

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South Africa Legal Deposit Act of 1997
Department of Arts & Culture, Republic of South Africa (South Africa)
The South African Legal Deposit Act, 1997, which commenced on 1 July 1998, defines deposit documents broadly to encompass electronic publications and new technologies.
http://www.dac.gov.za/legislation_policies/acts/0rb~LEGAL%20DEPOSIT%20
ACT%2054%20OF%201997.doc

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Algeria

Long-Term Preservation of ETDs in Algeria : Discussion Through CERIST Deposit System
Bakelli, Yahia; Benrahmoun, Sabrina (Date Created: 2003) (Algeria)
In Algeria, an electonic copy of every Masters and PhD thesis must be deposited at CERIST (Research Centre on Science and Technical Information) as a condition of obtaining the qualification. This paper examines the issues of preservation and accessability of these resources. The issues are examined within both an Algerian and international context.
http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/etd2003/bakelli-yahia/HTML/index.html

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Australia

First National Consultative Meeting on the Management of Australian Physical-Format Digital Publications
National Library of Australia (Last Updated: 16 Oct 1998) (Australia)
A National Consultative Meeting on the management of Australian physical-format digital publications brought together representatives from publishers, creators and the National and State Libraries. The meeting aimed to seek agreement on key principles and responsibilities related to the long-term access to digital publications in physical formats. Issues such as legal and voluntary deposit, copyright, access, licensing, collection development, cataloguing, and preservation paths were discussed and an action plan formalised to progress the development of strategies for the long-term preservation and access to significant Australian publications.
http://www.nla.gov.au/niac/meetings/physical.html
Legal Deposit in Australia
National Library of Australia (Last Updated: 1999) (Australia)
This article contains general information about legal deposit and the particular requirements of deposit libraries in each Australian state.
http://www.nla.gov.au/services/ldeposit.html
Legal Deposit, Electronic Publications and Digital Archiving - the National Library of Australia’s Experience
Gatenby, Pam In: 68th IFLA General Conference and Council - Libraries for Life: Democracy, Diversity, Delivery (Date Created: 19 Aug 2002) (Australia)
In this paper, presented at the 68th IFLA General Conference and Council held in Glasgow, 18-24Th August, 2002, Pam Gatenby of the National Library of Australia discusses "how the experience gained from the Library’s digital archiving activity is shaping proposed changes to legal deposit legislation and also explains the constraints imposed by copyright law. Issues of concern to the National Library, publishers and government bureaucrats are highlighted and ways in which these are being addressed are outlined."
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/071-124e.pdf
Legislating the Rainbow: Legal Deposit, Access and Distribution in a Digital Environment
Whitehead, Derek (Date Created: Nov 1995) (Australia)
This paper examines the relevance of legal deposit to new media, focussing on the practicability of legal deposit as a means of obtaining and preserving documentary material.
http://www.nla.gov.au/niac/meetings/npo95dw.html
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Management and Preservation of Physical-Format Digital Publications: A National Library Position Paper on the Role of Australian Legal Deposit Libraries DRAFT, February 1998
National Library of Australia (Last Updated: 18 Feb 1998) (Australia)
This is a National Library of Australia position paper on the role of Australian legal deposit libraries in the management and preservation of physical format digital materials. The paper suggests ways the National Library of Australia can work with other stakeholders to find practical, cost effective ways of ensuring preservation for this category of publication. Emphasising the need for coordination and cooperation, this paper contains nineteen recommendations for preserving access to physical format digital publications.
http://www.nla.gov.au/policy/physform.html
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National strategy for provision of access to Australian electronic publications : a National Library of Australia position paper
National Library of Australia (Last Updated: 21 Dec 1998) (Australia)
This paper proposes a national strategy to provide access to Australian electronic publications. Its purpose is to invite comment which may lead to collaborative approaches to resolving the many challenges associated with providing current and longer-term access to electronic material.
http://www.nla.gov.au/policy/paep.html
Our Digital Island
State Library of Tasmania (Regularly Updated) (Australia)
Our Digital Island provides access to Tasmanian Web sites that have been preserved for posterity by the State Library of Tasmania, as required by the legal deposit provisions of the Libraries Act 1984. It includes sections on: Selection policy, Metadata development, and a description of the project.
http://odi.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/
Policy on Networked Australian Electronic Publications
National Library of Australia (Last Updated: 21 Dec 1998) (Australia)
The document expresses the National Library of Australia's policy at the broadest level. It is anticipated that it will be developed in more detail as a result of work currently being undertaken at the Library.
http://www.nla.gov.au/policy/elecpol.html
Policy on the Use of Australian CD-ROMs and Other Electronic Materials Acquired by Deposit
National Library of Australia (Last Updated: 15 Sep 1995) (Australia)
This statement sets out the policy of the National Library of Australia towards CD-ROMs and other electronic materials acquired by the Library by voluntary deposit. The conditions outlined here are used to form the basis of a formal agreement to be entered into with depositors when they deposit their publications in electronic format.
http://www.nla.gov.au/policy/cdrom.html
Simplification of the Copyright Act 1968 : Part 2 Categorisation of Subject Matter and Exclusive Rights and Other Issues
Copyright Law Review Committee (Last Updated: 12 Feb 1999) (Australia)
This report proposes to simplify the categories of protected subject matter and the exclusive rights of copyright owners. It also considers the implementation of a distribution right and addresses issues identified by the Copyright Convergence Group for further consideration by the Committee. Among the matters proposed in those reforms is the new broadly based, technology-neutral right of communication to the public.
http://law.gov.au/clrc/gen_info/clrc/Report%20Part%202/ReportHeadings2
.html
Voluntary Deposit Scheme for Physical Format Electronic Publications
National Library of Australia (Last Updated: 24 Jun 1998) (Australia)
The National Library of Australia has developed a set of guidelines for the use of CD-ROMs and other electronic materials voluntarily deposited with the Library. It recognises that users of the Library may access the electronic publications in accordance with the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act, 1968 and that the Library has an obligation to control and preserve the information contained within the CD-ROMs and other products in accordance with its statutory role. The policy strictly limits the use which the Library may make of these titles to protect the interests of the publisher.
http://www.nla.gov.au/policy/vdelec.html

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Austria

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Archivierung Elektronischer Medien
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Regularly Updated) (Austria)
The Austrian National Library's electronic archiving web page. The text emphasises that permanent archiving of electronic publications is dependent on the enactment of effective legal deposit legislation. Links are made to the 2000 amendment to legal deposit law (the Novelle zum Mediengesetz), which extended the scope of the legislation to include offline media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs. The complications associated with the deposit and control of online publications are also addressed.
http://www.onb.ac.at/about/projekte/arch-el-medien.htm
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Webarchivierung : Eine Aufgabe für Nationalbibliotheken ?!
Rauber, Andreas ; Schmidt, Alfred (Date Created: 14 May 2001) (Austria)
This report, which was presented to the May 2001 meeting of the Federal Internet Advisory Board, discusses the challenges of archiving the Internet for the Austrian National Library. The legal deposit implications for the collection and control of online materials are also examined in the paper.
http://www.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aola/publications/InternetBeirat_14-5-01_
1.doc

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Canada

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Consultation on Online Publications
National Library of Canada (Date Created: 31 Jan 2000) (Canada)
Consultation on Online Publications is an initiative of the National Library of Canada to bring together experts from various sectors of the Canadian publishing community with National Library staff, to discuss key issues that the National Library must address when collecting and providing access to online publications. This is a new website that will be updated as more information is available.
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/8/7/index-e.html
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Electronic Publications Pilot Project (EPPP): summary of the final report
The National Library of Canada (Last Updated: 23 May 1996) (Canada)
This summary of the final report describes a pilot project that aimed to identify and understand the challenges associated with acquiring, cataloguing, preserving and providing access to Canadian electronic publications. The discussion focusses on two issues: firstly, the NLC's responsibility for storing and managing electronic publications that Canadian authors and publishers create; and secondly, the Library's role as creator and distributor of computerised documents.
ISBN: 0-662-24672-1
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/publications/4/p4-201-e.html
Guidelines for Legal Deposit Legislation
Lariviere, Jules (Date Created: 2000) (Canada)
These guidelines are the revised, enlarged and updated edition of the 1981 publication of the same name by Dr Jean Lunn. Chapter 6, entitled 'Legal Deposit of Electronic Formats', recommends that national libraries be responsible for archiving digital information, rather than the publisher.
http://www.ifla.org/VII/s1/gnl/legaldep1.htm
Also at http://www.unesco.org/webworld/index.shtml
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Legal Deposit : Preserving Canada's Published Heritage
Legal Deposit, National Library of Canada (Regularly Updated) (Canada)
This web page provides an overview of Canadian legal deposit legislation, which includes amongst its provisions the obligatory deposit of CD-ROM and other physical format electronic materials. Links are made within the text to relevant Canadian Acts.
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/6/25/s25-200-e.html
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Networked Electronic Publications: Policy and Guidelines
National Library of Canada (Date Created: Oct 1998) (Canada)
This policies and guidelines statement deals with the processes of identifying, locating, acquiring, reporting, storing and preserving networked electronic publications at the National Library of Canada.
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/publications/8/index.html

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Denmark

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Legal Deposit from the Internet in Denmark : Experiences with the Law from 1997 and the Need for Adjustments
Henriksen, Birgit (Date Created: Jun 2001) (Denmark)
This paper, presented at the Preserving the Present for the Future : Strategies for the Internet conference, reviews the 1997 amendments to Danish legal deposit legislation to include static internet publications. The author examines the limitations of the updated statute for the collection of dynamic web resources, and argues for the further extension of the law to allow for harvesting of a broader representation of the Danish web.
http://www.deflink.dk/upload/doc_filer/doc_alle/1023_BNH.doc
Legal Deposit in Denmark
Statsbiblioteket (Date Created: 10 Jun 1997) (Denmark)
This article describes the main features of Denmark's previous legal deposit law which dated back to 1927. It then outlines the new legislation, which came into effect in 1998, highlighting the differences between the old and new versions of the law. At the end of the article is the full text of the new Act on Copyright Deposit of Published Works.
http://www.sb.aau.dk/english/legal_deposit.html
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Legal Deposit In Denmark : The New Law and Electronic Products
Dupont, Henrik, Det Kongelige Bibliothek (Date Created: 1999) (Denmark)
This article, originally published in LIBER Quarterly, details the provisions of the Act on Copyright Deposit of Published Works, which came into effect in Denmark on 1 January 1998. The amendments change the emphasis of the legislation from printed to published works, regardless of the medium in which they are produced. Importantly, the law extends to physical format digital materials, and to those published Internet materials which are issued in a static and final form.
http://www.kb.nl/infolev/liber/articles/dupont11.htm
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Pligtaflevering : Bevar Nutiden For Fremtiden
Sektionen for Pligtaflevering, Det Kongelige Bibliotek (Regularly Updated) (Denmark)
The legal deposit home page of the Royal Library of Denmark, which is responsible for the cataloguing and storage of Danish maps, electronic products and Internet publications. The site has been designed for use by publishers to access information about Danish legal deposit law (particularly as it relates to the 1998 Act on Copyright Deposit of Published Works), and to submit and register details of electronic publications for deposit. The Royal Library uses the Internet addresses supplied therein to download material for deposit, and addition to the national bibliography.
http://www.pligtaflevering.dk/index.htm

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Finland

Electronic Publications as Legal Deposit Copies
Hakala, Juha; Helsinki University Library In: Tietolinja News (Date Created: 15 Jan 1999) (Finland)
This article is a detailed discussion of the proposals made by the Working Group that conducted the revision of the Finnish Legal Deposit Act. The discussion includes: freely accessible online publications and the decision not to make their deposit compulsory; specific deposit requirements for physical format and online electronic documents; delivery methods of electronic documents to be deposited; the treatment of electronic articles; and the use of electronic legal deposit copies.
ISSN: 1239-9132
http://www.lib.helsinki.fi/tietolinja/0199/legaldep.html
Tietolinja News : Electronic Newsletter of the Library Network Services, Helsinki University Library, 1/1999
Reform of the Finnish Legal Deposit Act
Hakli, Esko; Helsinki University Library In: Tietolinja News (Date Created: 15 Jan 1999) (Finland)
This article outlines the requirements of the current Finnish Legal Deposit Act and describes the proposed revisions to the Act, in particular the proposals relating to electronic publications.
http://www.lib.helsinki.fi/tietolinja/0199/reform.html#eng
Tietolinja News : Electronic Newsletter of the Library Network Services, Helsinki University Library, 1/1999

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France

Depot Legal, ISSN
Bibliotheque nationale de France (Regularly Updated) (France)
Updated version of the Bibliotheque nationale de France's legal deposit web pages. As well as providing background information to the mandatory deposit scheme, links are provided to current legislation, and to the recommendations of the Conseil scientifique du dépôt légal (the French legal deposit advisory body) that deposit be extended to include online publications.
http://www.bnf.fr/pages/zNavigat/frame/infopro.htm
A First Experience in Archiving the French Web
Abiteboul, Serge; Cobéna, Gregory; Masanès, Julien; Sedrati, Gerald (Date Created: Sep 2002) (France)
This paper describes preliminary work and experiments by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and INRIA in archiving the French web under legal deposit legislation. Defining the perimeter of the French web and versioning issues are also discussed.
ftp://ftp.inria.fr/INRIA/Projects/verso/gemo/GemoReport-229.pdf
Le Dépôt Légal
National Library of France (Last Updated: 1997) (France)
This site includes links to the text of the 1992 legislation and the decree of 31 December 1993, which together extended legal deposit to cover physical format digital material from 1 January 1994. Other documents regarding legal deposit in France are also available.
http://www.bnf.fr/pages/zNavigat/frame/infopro.htm

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Japan

Electronic Publications and National Bibliography in Japan
National Diet Library (Date Created: Dec 1999) (Japan)
This newsletter article discusses the National Diet Library of Japan approach to the concept of an electronic library, the legal deposit and acquisition of electronic publications and their bibliographic control.
http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/publication/ndl_newsletter/112/123.html
in National Diet Library Newsletter
Electronic Publications and the Legal Deposit System in Japan
National Diet Library (Date Created: Jan 1999) (Japan)
This article outlines the presentation of a report in May 1998 from the Legal Deposit System Research Council, an advisory group for the National Diet Librarian, entitled "The Interim Report: On Institution and Management of the Legal Deposit System of Electronic Publications".
http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/publication/ndl_newsletter/107/076.html
in, National Diet Library Newsletter, no. 107, January 1999.

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Netherlands

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Arrangement for Depositing Electronic Publications at the Deposit of Netherlands Publications [sic] in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek
Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Date Created: 1999) (Netherlands)
English text of a general agreement made on 10 June 1999 between the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and the Dutch Publishers' Association for the voluntary deposit of on- and offline electronic publications. The arrangement is experimental in nature, and is to be reviewed on a three-yearly basis, with the first evaluation due on or before 1 July 2002. Importantly, dynamic databases, whilst covered by the compass of the agreement, will not be sought on deposit by the KB until technical and other problems associated with their collection, storage and access are fully understood.
http://www.kb.nl/kb/dnp/overeenkomst-nuv-kb-en.pdf
Project Deposit of Dutch Electronic Publications (DNEP)
Nieuwenburg, Betty (Regularly Updated) (Netherlands)
The Web page of the Depot van Nederlandse Elecktronische Publicaties (DNEP) or Deposit of Dutch Electronic Publications Project. Initiated by the National Library of the Netherlands, and based on agreement forged with Dutch publishers, the DNEP is being built as a long-term storage and preservation system for the voluntary deposit of electronic publications. Since 1996 the system has received physical format digital material, and in 2001 enhancements are underway to allow for the full deposit and storage of Dutch online publications
http://www.kb.nl/kb/ict/dea/index-en.html
Dutch version available at http://www.kb.nl/kb/resources/frameset_kb.html?/kb/ict/dea/index-en.html
Report On Current Practices Among Publishers Regarding The Deposit of Digital Publications
Oskamp, Liesbeth (Date Created: 16 Jul 2003) (Netherlands)
This report provides the results of a publishers’ questionnaire conducted as part of Workpackage One (WP1), The European Libraries (TEL) project. The aim of WP1 is to develop better working relations between European National Libraries and publishers in relation to the deposit of digital publications. The report, based on the responses of 39 European publishers, covers areas such as deposit practices, access, metadata, pricing and comments on the advantages and disadvantages of the depositing digital publications.
http://www.europeanlibrary.org/pdf/tel_d1.2v1.0.pdf
European Library Report, IST-2000-25347
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Setting up a Deposit System for Electronic Publications, the Nedlib Guidelines
Steenbakkers, Johan; Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Date Created: Nov 2000) (Netherlands)
This paper summarises the findings of a NEDLIB project that explored a joint approach towards the management and maintenance of electronic publications. The key objective was to produce a common model and terminology for the deposit system for electronic publications. The paper compares the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) with the NEDLIB model and discusses issues such as storage, preparing electronic publications for deposit and setting up a deposit system. It was found that more standards and technology are needed in the area of digital preservation.
ISBN: 906259149-3
http://www.kb.nl/coop/nedlib/results/NEDLIBguidelines.pdf
Report No. 5 in NEDLIB report series

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Norway

Paradigma : Preservation of Digital Material
Project of Paradigma (Norway)
Paradigma (Preservation, Arrangement & Retrieval of Assorted DIGital MAterials) is a three year project conducted by the National Library of Norway. The project began in 2001. Paradigma's goal is to find the technology, methods and organization for the collection and preservation of electronic documents, and to give the National Library's users access to these documents in compliance with the Legal Deposit Act. The page announces the National Library of Norway's plans.
http://www.nb.no/paradigma/eng_index.html
The Paradigma Project
van Nuys, Carol In: RLG DigiNews (Date Created: 15 Apr 2003) (Norway)
Project Paradigma is designed to collect and preserve Norway's digital cultural heritage. The Project began in August 2001 and is scheduled to end in December 2004. Its goals are to develop and establish routines for the selection, collection, description, identification, and storage of all types of digital documents and to give users access to these publications in compliance with the Legal Deposit Act. The article provides an overview of the Project, including selection criteria, legal and technical issues. The article also provides a background of legal deposit in Norway, especially in regard to digital publications.
http://www.rlg.org/preserv/diginews/diginews7-2.html#feature2

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South Africa

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South Africa Legal Deposit Act of 1997
Department of Arts & Culture, Republic of South Africa (South Africa)
The South African Legal Deposit Act, 1997, which commenced on 1 July 1998, defines deposit documents broadly to encompass electronic publications and new technologies.
http://www.dac.gov.za/legislation_policies/acts/0rb~LEGAL%20DEPOSIT%20
ACT%2054%20OF%201997.doc

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Sweden

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Legal Deposits
Royal Library of Sweden (Regularly Updated) (Sweden)
The legal deposit web pages of the Royal Library of Sweden contains a list of the categories of materials subject to statutory deposit, as well as links to the Acts of 1993 and 1995 (the latter of which extended the scope of the legislation to include certain electronic documents).
http://www.kb.se/Ple/ld.htm
Swedish version available at http://www.kb.se/Ple/LD.htm
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New Decree for Kulturarw3
Lidman, Tomas; Pearman, Jonathan (Last Updated: 10 Jun 2002) (Sweden)
A special decree by the Swedish government, accepted on May 8, 2002, authorises the Royal Library of Sweden to collect Swedish web sites on the Internet and to allow the public access to the archive within the library premises.
http://www.kb.se/Info/Pressmed/Arkiv/2002/020605_eng.htm
Also available in Swedish at http://www.kb.se/Info/Pressmed/Arkiv/2002/020605.htm

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United Kingdom

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Code of Practice for the Voluntary Deposit of Non-Print Publications
The British Library (Last Updated: 04 May 2001) (United Kingdom)
This code sets out the agreed practice for the voluntary deposit of non-print physical format publications in the United Kingdom. The arrangement, which came into effect in January 2000, received the endorsement of the various UK publisher trade bodies and legal deposit libraries, and is intended to guide interim practice before new legislation is drafted. The code also recognises the challenges for the deposit of static and dynamic online publications, and examines some of the issues associated with long term access and preservation.
http://www.bl.uk/about/policies/codeprac.html
1999 Revised Version available at National Library of Scotland website http:///www.nls.uk/professional/legaldeposit/nonprint/code.html
Digital Preservation an introduction to the standards issues surrounding the deposit of non-print publications
Bide, M., Potter, E. J. , Watkinson, A. (Date Created: Sep 1999) (United Kingdom)
This study aims to focus attention on the issues surrounding legal deposit of electronic publications in the United Kingdom. The report defines electronic publications, how they should be selected for legal deposit and provides an outline of digital preservation stratagies. The study provides a good summary of relevant digital preservation issues, focussing on legal deposit.
http://www.bic.org.uk/digpres.doc
E-Journals - What Do You Get For Your Money?
Jones, Maggie (Date Created: Feb 2003) (United Kingdom)
This article focuses on the role of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), UK, in relation to the issues and challenges of the long-term preservation and continued access of licensed e-journals. JISC has acknowledged the conflict that has emerged with licensed e-journals, particularly with regard to the differing roles and responsibilities of both libraries and publishers. To that end, the Committee has developed a JISC/Publishers Association (PA) Model Licence that seeks to explore such areas as continued online access and different archival options. Between September and November 2002, a JISC consultancy conducted a survey of libraries and publishers as a means of addressing this need for a more definitive role between libraries and publishers, as well as assessing options for a central archiving facility.
ISSN: 0953-0460
http://ninetta.ingentaselect.com
Available online at http://pippo.ingentaselect.com. and in Serials for the International Serials Community, Vol. 16, No. 1, March 2003, pp. 27-31
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Legal Deposit
National Library of Scotland (Regularly Updated) (United Kingdom)
The Legal Deposit web pages of the National Library of Scotland. Links are provided to documentation about the deposit of UK non-print publications, including a 1999 Revised Version of the Code of Practice for the Voluntary Deposit of Non-Print Publications and related explanatory notes (effective January 2000). Reference is made to the deposit of both offline and online electronic publications, the latter of which are excluded from the voluntary arrangement and are instead subject to experimental deposit testing.
http://www.nls.uk/professional/legaldeposit/index.html
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The National Published Archive : Legal Deposit of Official Publications
Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) (Date Created: 15 May 2000) (United Kingdom)
This document, published in the HMSO Guidance Notes series, outlines the obligations for the legal deposit of print and non-print official publications by UK government agencies. Of particular interest is the description of the requirements of the voluntary code of practice for the deposit of physical format media.
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/copyright/guidance/gn_11.htm
Published as Number 11 in the HMSO Guidance Notes series
Report of the working party on legal deposit
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Date Created: 15 Dec 1998) (United Kingdom)
This is the report of the (UK) Working Party on Legal Deposit set up by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in January 1998. One of its recommendations is that a code of practice for voluntary deposit of electronic publications be drawn up, but that, in the longer term, statutory deposit would be required in order to secure a comprehensive national published archive.
http://www.bl.uk/about/policies/workreplegdep.html

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United States of America

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Mandatory Deposit of Copies or Phonorecords for the Library of Congress
U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress (Last Updated: 2000) (United States of America)
Revised in 2000, this US Copyright Office circular sets out the regulations for the mandatory lodgement of deposit materials in the Library of Congress. Certain publications in machine readable formats, such as CD-ROMs and microfilms, are encompassed by the legislation, but automatic databases and other dynamic electronic materials are specifically exempted from the deposit obligation.
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ07d.html
U.S. Copyright Office Circular 7d

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Related Topics: Managing national collections of electronic publications | National strategies

Broader Topic: National Approaches

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