UK and Irish legal deposit libraries
There are six legal deposit libraries in the United Kingdom and Ireland:
- The British Library, London
- National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh
- Bodleian Library, Oxford
- Cambridge University Library
- Trinity College, Dublin
- National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
The five libraries in Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin and Aberystwyth are entitled to request free of charge a copy of everything published in the United Kingdom, providing they make a request in writing within a year of the date of publication.
These libraries share the Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries, which acts on their behalf in requesting materials that are due and which serves as the statutory depot for the receipt of material acquired in terms of the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003.
British Library copy
The British Library has a slightly different privilege in that it is the responsibility of publishers to send a copy of their publications without a written claim being required. It has its own Legal Deposit Office:
Legal Deposit Office
The British Library
Boston Spa
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7BY
Tel: 01937 546268 (books) or 01937 546267 (serials)
Email: legal-deposit-books@bl.uk
or legal-deposit-serials@bl.uk
Printed publications and CD-ROMs legal deposit