Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 Under the Copyright Act 1911 (Section 15) publishers and distributors are obliged to deposit a copy of their publication with the British Library within one month of publication. The publisher and the distributor bear this cost. This section has now been superseded by the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003. The obligations however remain unchanged. Printed Works The obligation is to deposit one copy of each publication within the British Library, whether or not it is requested. In return, you should be provided with a receipt in writing, this may be sent by electronic or other means (Section 4). There is not an obligation to deposit a copy of your publication with the National Library of Scotland unless requested specifically. This request must be in writing, although again it can be sent by electronic or other means, (note that this request could be for all future copies of your publication). No request can be made after twelve months from the day of the publication. Non-printed works Under the 2003 Act, you are under no obligation to deposit non-print works. Non-print works are described as follows:- 1. Microfilm/microfiche. 2. Offprint Electronic Media Provisions are made within the 2003 Act, to oblige a publisher/distributor to deposit such items along with your printed works, this Act only gives an authority for regulations to be made. Currently there are no regulations drawn or in contemplation. Therefore whilst the 2003 Act does make provisions for publishers or distributors to deposit items such as microfiche, the obligation is not yet here. Code of Practice At the end of 1977, the Secretary for State for Culture, Media & Sport set up a working party under the Chairmanship of Sir Anthony Kenny to advise on how an effective National Archive of non-print material might be achieved. This resulted in a Voluntary Code of Practice for non-print material. The Voluntary Code directs that microfilm and microfiche and Off line Electronic Media should be deposited at the British Library/Legal Deposit Library in the usual manner. (bear in mind that this code has no legal effect). Online Publications These publications are those that are on line only i.e. there is no physical edition for example CD ROM. Neither the 2003 Act nor the Voluntary Code of Practice takes account of on-line publications. Indeed the Code of Practice did consider putting in place a voluntary obligation, but excluded them in the end as it would be almost impossible for publishers and libraries to cope. Enforcement Under the old Act the penalty for non-compliance was a fine, on summary conviction. The new Act appears to have removed the idea of criminal penalty and allows for a defence (Section 3). The National Library of Scotland has advised us that they are hoping to set up seminars about the implications of the 2003 Act for publishers. This may be a useful source of information, and to watch out for this event.