Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries (ALDL)
Legal deposit is a way of maintaining a systematic record of publishing output in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, preserving it for future generations. The legislation governing legal deposit was first introduced in 1662. In 2013 it was updated to include electronic and non-print publications.
Benefits: The legal deposit system also has benefits for authors and publishers:
- Deposited publications are made available to users of the deposit libraries on their premises, are preserved for the benefit of future generations, and become part of the nation's heritage
- Publications are recorded in the online catalogues, and become an essential research resource 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, and has a world-wide distribution
- Publishers have at times approached the deposit libraries for copies of their own publications which they no longer have, but which have been preserved through legal deposit
- Legal deposit supports a cycle of knowledge, whereby deposited works provide inspiration and source material for new books that will eventually achieve publication.
There are six legal deposit libraries in the UK and ROI:
- British Library
- National Library of Scotland
- National Library of Wales
- Bodleian Library, Oxford
- University Library, Cambridge
- Trinity College Library, Dublin
The Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries (ALDL) requests and receives copies of print publications for distribution to five libraries (2-6). The British Library is independent.
See legaldeposit.org/ for further information.
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