Publishers in the UK are required by law to supply one copy of each of their publications to The British Library, free of charge, within one month of publication. They are also required to supply a copy to five other libraries (see list below) within twelve months of the date of publication if requested to do so by The Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries. In practice, most publishers supply these copies as a matter of course.
With a few exceptions (e.g. publications circulated only to members of a society), all printed publications come within the scope of legal deposit. Electronic publications (offline and online) will also come within the scope of legal deposit as regulations are introduced to implement the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003. Offline items (e.g. CD-ROMs) will be affected first. For full details of the Act, and exemptions, go to www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/en2003/2003en28.htm
- Copies for The British Library should be sent to:
Legal Deposit Office
The British Library
Boston Spa
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7BY
Enquiries about books:
Tel. 019 375 46268
legal-deposit-books@bl.uk
Enquiries about serials:
Tel. 019 37 5 46267
legal-deposit-serials@bl.uk
- The other Legal Deposit Libraries are:
The National Library of Wales
The Bodleian Library, Oxford
The University Library, Cambridge
The National Library of Scotland
The Library of Trinity College, Dublin
Copies for these libraries should be sent to:
The Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries
100 Euston Street
London
NW1 2HQ
Tel. 020 7388 5061
Fax 020 7383 3540
Further information about this agency can be found at www.llgc.org.uk/aldl
- Alternatively, publishers who use the distribution services of the Welsh Books Council may forward copies for all six libraries through the Council’s Distribution Centre. Enquiries about this service should be directed to:
The Manager
Welsh Books Council Distribution Centre
Glanyrafon Enterprise Park
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
SY23 3AQ
Tel. 01970 624455
Fax 01970 625506
distribution.centre@wbc.org.uk
Date last updated: 16 Oct 2007