Re: Legal Deposit Libraries Act

[Cliff Morgan <cmorgan@wiley.co.uk>]

Hi Joe: see http://www.bl.uk/about/policies/legaldeposit.html for 
info on the UK Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003. For a succinct 
history of legal deposit and copyright legislation in the UK and 
Ireland, see 
http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/resources/copyright/history.htm.

Back in 1610, the Bodleian Library received a copy of every book 
registered at Stationers Hall.

The Bodleian is one of the libraries involved in the Google Print 
for Libraries project, and I think that Nigel Newton is making 
the point that legal deposit copies have limitations on their use 
and accessibility. Not quite a dark archive since access is 
allowed, but only within legal deposit library reading rooms - 
may be thought of as a crepuscular archive ...

Publishers have worked, and continue to work, closely with the 
legal deposit libraries - in the URL above, see details re 
voluntary codes of practice, the Joint Committee on Legal Deposit 
(JCLD), and specific pilot projects to help define future 
Regulations.

Cliff Morgan