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Freedom of Information

Introduction

The National Library of Scotland is the successor to the historic library of the Faculty of Advocates, which opened off Edinburgh's Royal Mile in 1689. Today, we are Scotland's foremost general research library and the world's leading repository for the printed and manuscript record of Scotland's history and culture.

We are the legal deposit library for Scotland, entitled to claim a copy of all UK and Irish publications. Almost 5,000 items a week reach us this way.

Three centuries after its foundation, the Library now holds eight million printed books, 1.6 million maps, and 100,000 journal, magazine and newspaper titles. Its manuscript collections alone cover 8km of shelves. This wealth of material can be consulted in the four reading rooms of our two main Edinburgh buildings at George IV Bridge and Causewayside.

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Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities. The National Library of Scotland will, from January 2005, disclose information requested by any individual, subject to a range of exemptions.

The Act will be enforced by the Scottish Information Commissioner (www.itspublicknowledge.co.uk).

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National Library of Scotland's Publication Scheme

Section 23 of the Act places a duty on Scottish public authorities to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme, to be approved by the Commissioner, which must specify:

The Information Commissioner approved the National Library of Scotland's Publication Scheme on 30 November 2004.

The Library's publication scheme is set out at section 11 – publication list – and outlines the information the National Library publishes or intends to publish, and how it can be obtained. Information can be made available to the public in a variety of ways, including electronically or in hard copy. In keeping with section 15 of the Act, which requires that public authorities provide advice and assistance to a person who has made, or proposes to make, a request, the Library will endeavour to help individuals to identify and locate the information they are seeking. If the information is otherwise accessible we will provide advice as to where it may be obtained.

Minutes of the Senior Management Team and Extended Management Team are available on request to the Corporate Information Officer.

The publication scheme will be periodically reviewed, amended and updated to include further published information.

Responsibility for the scheme

Overall responsibility for this publication scheme lies with the Director of Corporate Services. Contact details are:

Day-to-day responsibility for managing the scheme lies with the Corporate Information Officer. Contact details are:

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Classes of information

The Library is committed to providing a wide range of information of interest to the general public and specialised audiences. Information is divided into three broad classes:

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Exempt information

We aim to be as open as possible. However, information may be withheld from any of the classes of information listed, where we consider that the disclosure may fall within one of the exemptions contained within the Act. For example, we may withhold information if its disclosure would breach the law of confidentiality or seriously prejudice the commerical interests of any person or organisation. We will also withhold information that is personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998.

In these cases, we will withhold the information and indicate why the information is being withheld. Even where an exemption exists, it may nevertheless be possible to provide copies with the exempted information edited out.

If you wish to complain against any decision to withhold information, please read the Feedback, Review and Appeal section below.

Personal Information

The Data Protection Act gives individuals the right to request access to the personal data that we hold about them. Requests under the Act for personal data are known as Subject Access requests. A Subject Access request should be made in writing (including e-mail) to the Corporate Information Officer. Please include your full name and contact details in any such correspondence.

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Access to material

Information listed in the publication scheme can be accessed:

Requests can also be made – from anywhere in the world – by telephone, fax or e-mail, or by using our online request form:

You do not have to be a Scottish citizen to request our corporate information.

In some circumstances, for example where information is contained in bulky or voluminous documents, the right of access will be by inspection by visiting the Library.

Please note that information held by the National Library of Scotland, but not contained within the publication scheme, may still be requested under the terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Requests should be made, in writing, to the Corporate Information Officer at the address shown above, and should provide as much detail as possible to enable Library staff to identify correctly the information sought. You can also use our online request form.

If you would prefer the information in a particular format, for example, photocopy, or on computer disk, this should be stated in your application. (NB: please note that fees may apply for certain services. See fees and charging section below.)

The Library aims to respond to all requests within 20 working days.

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Fees and charges

The National Library expects to respond to most information requests free of charge. This includes much of the information contained in the publication scheme. We may however, charge for certain items including:

It may be necessary to charge for the provision of information where significant resources are deployed to source, retrieve and organise information into a customised response.

Postage and packing charges may be made on certain items or heavy packages but will be restricted to the reasonable costs incurred. A charge may also be made for storage media for information requested in electronic format.

Enquiries about charges should be made to the Corporate Information Officer.

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Copyright

Most of the information that is generated by the National Library of Scotland is subject to Copyright. Unless otherwise stated, corporate information and information about public services is 'Copyright the Board of Trustees'.

The supply of documents under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, whether that is subject to Trustees or other Copyright, does not give the person or organisation receiving them an automatic right to re-use the documents by, for example making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public.

In most cases, material made available in this publication scheme may be reproduced for the purposes of research for non commercial purposes, personal study, criticism, review and news reporting. Individuals are therefore authorised to copy or download text or images to file or print for their own individual use.

Permission to reproduce information in the publication scheme does not extend to any material that is identified as being the copyright of a third party. Authorisation to reproduce such material must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned.

Information on copying guidelines is available on the Library's website at www.nls.uk/info/copyingservices or by writing to:

The National Library of Scotland logo is the property of National Library of Scotland and cannot be reproduced without the prior approval of the Board of Trustees.

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Records Retention Policy

The National Library of Scotland is required to have in place a Record Retention and Disposal Schedule in respect of all documents it creates and holds. This schedule will be available in due course.

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Feedback, review and appeal

The National Library of Scotland is committed to continually reviewing and improving its services. Feedback and comment on the publication scheme will be welcomed and incorporated into the review process. We are particularly interested in your experiences of using the publication lists and the accessibility of the material contained within them. Comments should be forwarded to:

Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with the accessibility of information in the Publication Scheme or in the way in which we have dealt with your enquiry, then you may raise the matter with the Corporate Information Officer at the above address.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint, you have the right to complain to the Scottish Information Commissioner. From 1 January 2005 there will be a formal appeal mechanism when information is withheld. Contact details:

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