NLA welcomes bill to extend legal deposit to digital publications

6 November 2014 Books+Publishing

The National Library of Australia (NLA) has welcomed the introduction of a Bill that will extend legal deposit to include digital publications.

The Civil Law and Justice Amendment Bill 2014, which was introduced by Federal Attorney-General George Brandis to the Senate on 29 October, includes measures to extend Australia’s Commonwealth legal deposit legislation to include digital publications such as ebooks and websites. The legislation currently only covers print publications, with the NLA collecting digital publications on a voluntary deposit basis.

The library’s director-general Anne-Marie Schwirtlich said in a statement: ‘The Civil Law and Justice Amendment Bill 2014 extends the legal deposit scheme into the 21st Century. With this legislation the Library can better fulfil its mandate under the National Library Act to build a collection which will meet the diverse needs of all Australians.

‘Digital deposit schemes are already operating successfully in Great Britain, New Zealand and several Scandinavian countries. The new legislation sees Australia joining international best practice in preserving the nation’s publishing heritage—in print or digital—for future generations.’

More information on legal deposit can be found on the library’s website here.

Category: Library news