Legal deposit

The legal deposit libraries are seeking your help to create a user forum to represent the interests of all existing and potential users of UK legal deposit. This is a fantastic opportunity to amplify the user voice, highlight different user needs and perspectives, communicate these to the legal deposit libraries and influence the design and development of the service. The working group to set up the forum have set up a comprehensive library guide with all the information about the group, relevant papers and how to join.

The Bodleian Libraries is one of the six libraries entitled under the Legal Deposit Libraries Act of 2003 to receive material published in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Legal deposit has existed in English law since 1662. It helps to ensure that the nation’s published output, and thereby its intellectual record and future published heritage, is collected systematically and preserved for future generations. Legal deposit material is made available to readers within the designated legal deposit libraries.

The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations 2013 extended the right to collect, preserve and make accessible digital publications and websites that were created within the UK domain.

The legal deposit libraries of the UK and Ireland are: