Securing Digital Legal Deposit in the UK: The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003

The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 extended the principle of legal deposit in the United Kingdom to the non-print world. This paper considers the Act particularly from the perspective of the British Library, which, since its formation in 1973, has led the campaign to reform legal deposit legislation. After a brief review of the history of legal deposit since 1610, the build-up to legislation during the years 1974-2002 is considered. There follows a detailed account of the passage of the Legal Deposit Libraries Bill through Parliament in 2002-3, and a summary of the provisions of the measure, as finally amended, as it has entered the statute books. Early progress towards implementation is described, following both statutory and voluntary routes. Finally, an assessment is offered of some of the key issues which surfaced during the Parliamentary debates, and a number of critical success factors identified. The Act itself is reproduced in the Appendix.