Guidelines for Legal Deposit Legislation

In October 2000 UNESCO published the Guidelines for Legal Deposit Legislation by Jules Larivière, Director Law Library, University of Ottawa, Canada. This is a revised, enlarged and updated edition of the 1981 publication by Dr. Jean Lunn.

The role of national libraries in ensuring universal and equitable access to information continues to be a cornerstone in the development of a knowledge society. A national library faces many challenges in ensuring that the published heritage of its country is acquired and preserved for all to use. An important vehicle in assisting national libraries meet this responsibility is legal deposit. The 1981 Guidelines for Legal Deposit Legislation prepared by Dr. Jean Lunn proved useful to many countries in developing their own legislation.

However, the advent of new formats, including digital publications, has raised new issues. It is imperative that information made available to the public in digital format be included as part of a national library's heritage collection. It is hoped that this new and enlarged edition of Dr. Lunn's work, which in particular addresses the issue of electronic formats, will similarly assist countries as they develop, update and revise their legal deposit legislation.

Marianne Scott, Former National Librarian of Canada and Chair of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL) Advisory Committee on the Revision of the Guidelines, stated:
"I am very pleased to see that a new edition of the 1981 Guidelines for Legal Deposit Legislation is now available. Legal deposit is a vital tool which supports the long-term preservation and availability of a country's published heritage. This revised and enlarged edition of the Guidelines tackles the challenges of depositing on-line electronic publications which are increasingly becoming an important part of the world's published heritage."

Sincere appreciation is due to UNESCO, which, through IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions), provided the financial support for this research work, and to the National Library of Canada for directing the project.

For more information contact:

Mr. Sjoerd Koopman