Help for Publishers
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Legal deposit
The National Library of Scotland is Scotland's legal deposit
library. Under the terms of the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 and
reciprocal Irish legislation, we have the right to request and
receive a copy of every publication produced in the United Kingdom
and Ireland.
Legal Deposit
information | British
Collections page
Where to send your publication
UK and Irish publishers can choose either to send legal deposit material direct to an individual legal deposit library or to the Agency for Legal Deposit Libraries, which acts on behalf of five of the legal deposit libraries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Contact the Legal Deposit Team to send material to the National Library of Scotland or for further information.
Non-print material
The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 provides for future legislation being introduced which will cover non-print publications. At the moment, the Code of Practice for the Voluntary Deposit of Non-Print Media, established in January 2000, means that certain categories of non-print publications may be requested for deposit. For more information, contact the Legal Deposit Team.
Scottish material
Particular emphasis is placed on building and maintaining collections of material published in or relating to Scotland or the Scots on any subject — an approach which has resulted in the Library having a unique and varied resource built up over more than 300 years. See the Scottish Collections page for more information.
Looking for images?
If you are looking for visual resources, it might be possible for us to supply a limited number of images for publication. We are happy to help with this, and recommend that you check the pages on the site dealing with copying services, which includes digital imaging, and permission to reproduce. Fees charged for copying services are also online. Further information on specific material can be found in our sections on the Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Maps Collections pages.