In the UK, it’s every publisher’s obligation to send at least one copy of a published book, free of charge, to the British Library. This has been in English law for printed books and papers since 1662 (and for electronic publications since 2013).
Since then, five more libraries have been added to the list, making six deposit libraries in total – each of which require a copy of every new publication that is published in the UK.
There is no charge to submit the books to the deposit libraries, but obviously there is a cost in producing and sending the books.
Ok, so what do I need to do?
ONE copy of the book must be sent to the British Library:
Legal Deposit Office
The British Library
Boston Spa
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7BY
Copies must also be supplied upon request to any of the five UK deposit libraries. You can wait for the request, but you might want to send the books anyway since it’s likely that the request will come your way.
The Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries operates on behalf of these five UK deposit libraries. So, FIVE copies go to one address:
Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries
Unit 21 Marnin Way
Edinburgh
EH12 9GD
You will also need to include a cover letter, giving the title, ISBN and your contact information. You should then receive written confirmation of receipt, within a few weeks.
These five are then distributed, one each, to the other five legal deposit libraries:
- National Library of Scotland
- National Library of Wales
- Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
- Cambridge University Library
- Trinity College Library, Dublin
The Agency for the Legal Deposit for Libraries’ website has more info about submitting electronic publications.
The good news…
If you publish with us, we sort all this for you. Contact us for more info.
A great reminder and if, like me, you forget to put your book on deposit then they will contact you and ask for the copies. I am guessing that for Uk publications, they take their data from Neilsens. I make that assumption as i made an error on one of my entries and that same error (incorrect title) appeared on their request. Not sure what happens if you have published on KDP ect using a free ISBN – do Amazon make the neilsends entry against their own ISBN? Graham from Publishious.
The British Library seems to be essential, but the other five seem to be only if they formally request a copy within a year. This is the only place I’ve seen that suggests you MUST send to all six. Everywhere else says only the British Library is an essential place to send your book.
That is correct, only the copy to the British Library is legally required without a request. However, in our experience, once the ISBN is active, the other libraries usually request copies anyway so the difference is moot. Publishers must deliver a copy within a month of receipt of the request. In my view, it’s therefore sensible to send all the copies at once so you’re not at risk of missing the legal deadline.
does this also apply to books published for private circulation to friends and family? There will be an ISBN but I do not intend to market this publication.
Hi Tim, I’m sorry for the late reply. My understanding is that the legal deposit rules are based on whether a work is published and made available to the public in the UK, not on the presence of an ISBN. However, it could be argued that an ISBN makes it publicly available. Typically, ISBNs are not used for private books for friends and family only.
Anyone in this situation may want to contact the Legal Deposit Libraries for clarification: https://legaldeposit.org/contact/
I have overseen the printing and binding of a book of poetry (183pp) on behalf of my sick brother. Similar to Tim Griffiths’ query above (4th Aug 2024), it is meant for private circulation to friends and family however unlike the above there is no ISBN. My brother has offered to give away the copyright although in the mêlée of getting it printed the printer has included his name and date but without the © logo. Does this book have copyright protection and what are the rules on legal deposit in the absence of an ISBN?
The legal deposit rules are based on whether a work is published and made available to the public in the UK, not on the presence of an ISBN.
Copyright in the UK is automatic, no registration is required (in the US, this is different).
HI,
can you tell me, does this same process apply for foreign books as well or is it slightly different?
Under the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, only books published or distributed in the UK are subject to the legal deposit requirements. If a book is published outside the UK but is sold, distributed, or made available in the UK (e.g., through a UK-based distributor or online retailer serving the UK market), then it falls within the scope of the legal deposit rules.
More info at: https://legaldeposit.org/faqs/