I think it might be helpful to respond to a few of the points that
have been raised in the recent correspondence on legal deposit.
1. Publishers are legally required to deposit one copy of every
printed work with the British Library. The other legal deposit
libraries (Bodleian, Cambridge University, National Library of
Scotland, National Library of Wales, and Trinity College Dublin) have
the right to claim a copy. This is normally done through the
Copyright Libraries Agent, Mr Tom Smail.
2. None of the legal deposit libraries routinely discards
printed items that have been claimed. They may choose not to take
into their stock some categories of unwanted items sent without
claim, e.g. exact reprints or items with no significant textual
content such as diaries or crossword puzzles.
3. All the legal deposit libraries participate in the Copyright
Libraries Shared Cataloguing Programme, under which they accept
specific responsibilities as contributors to BNB. Inclusion in BNB
is of advantage to publishers in helping to advertise their
publications.
4. When checking a library's online catalogue for works known to
have been claimed by the library it is worth remembering that:
(a) the OPAC does not necessarily include the whole stock, which
in the case of the legal deposit libraries will be very large.
(b) the libraries will treat some publications as serials, which
may or may not appear on the OPAC.
(c) the priority given to the Shared Cataloguing commitments may
mean that, particularly in a period of declining staffing budgets,
other items may take longer to catalogue and process.
5. The legal deposit libraries have a Standing Committee on
Legal Deposit (SCOLD). I am the present Chair of SCOLD, which is
the reason why I am writing this note. SCOLD works to formulate
cooperative acquisition and preservation strategies among the legal
deposit libraries.
6. So far as local publications are concerned, those of Irish,
Scottish and Welsh interest are actively sought by, respectively,
TCD, NLS and NLW, often by direct claim to the publisher. NLS and
NLW also seek to secure as full coverage as possible of the border
areas. These libraries are selective in their acquisition of items
of English local publications, though all the legal deposit libraries
do, of course, have an interest in items which have a scholarly
value.
7. The BL is hoping to host a one-day conference on local
publications, particularly in relation to the public libraries
sector, in the autumn and is currently discussing with a university
department the possibility of a study into the range and scope of
local publishing in one English region.
I hope this is of some help. As legal deposit libraries we
certainly don't claim to be doing everything perfectly, and like
everyone else we live in financially challenging times. I am sure
that SCOLD will wish to look at the correspondence.
Lionel Madden
Lionel Madden
Llyfrgellydd/Librarian
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/The National Library of Wales
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion SY23 3BU
Tel: 01970 632805 FAX: 01970 632886
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|