Building the State Library of Tasmania's Heritage Collections
Legal deposit is a statutory provision which obliges publishers to deposit copies of their publications in major libraries in the country or state of publication. In Australia, the National and all of the State libraries have deposit privileges. In some states other libraries, such as those of universities, can also claim deposit copies.
In Tasmania, the "legal deposit" provision is included in the Libraries Act 1984. It requires that a copy of every item published in Tasmania be deposited in the State Library of Tasmania. It is also necessary to deposit a copy with the National Library of Australia.
Legal deposit is the principal way we can ensure that our documentary heritage is preserved - that a copy of every Tasmanian publication will be available not only for today's researchers and students but also for future generations. To ensure that deposit copies are preserved, the State Library normally purchases at least one more copy (and sometimes several) of any Tasmanian publication which is likely to be heavily used.
Legal deposit is the responsibility of the publisher (or the author, if a work is self-published) - the person, organisation or company which distributes copies. The responsibility extends not only to commercial publishers but also to private individuals, clubs, churches, societies and organisations that issue publications. Legal deposit is not the responsibility of printers or booksellers (unless they are also publishers).
The Tasmanian Libraries Act defines the forms of publications which must be deposited. They include books, periodicals, newspapers, maps and plans, sheet music, sound and video recordings, and anything else which records or reproduces words, sounds or images. An item is published if copies of it are sold or otherwise distributed to the public. So as well as all printed items- including things such as family histories, election leaflets, handbooks, manuals and local newsletters - more unexpected items such as computer disks, posters, bands' demo cassettes should be deposited.
The Libraries Act specifies that the copy of any item which is deposited must be the best copy published. For example, if both a hard cover edition and a paperback edition of a book are published, one copy of the hard cover edition must be deposited.
Websites
In line with its preservation responsibilities, the State Library selectively preserves World Wide Web sites which are created, and placed on the Web, in Tasmania. These web sites are available on Our Digital Island. The collection process is under constant review, and contributions and input from WWW publishers and content creators is welcomed.
Electronic publications
The definition of ‘a book’ in the Libraries Act 1984 applies equally to electronic publications as to printed works. Electronic publications created and published in Tasmania can be easily lodged for legal deposit via the State Library's web-based document archive called STORS (Stable Tasmanian Open Repository Service). STORS is an open internet archive for electronic material created and published in Tasmania, and available to the community at large. It allows publishers to place and retain electronic publications in a reliable and managed central location that also satisfies their legal deposit obligations.
Details of legal deposit in Australia are available from the National Library of Australia website.
If you have items to be deposited, you can take them to any branch of the State Library and hand them to a staff member (making sure that they are clearly identified as "legal deposit" material). Alternatively, you can mail them to:
Legal Deposit
State Library of Tasmania
91 Murray Street
HOBART, TASMANIA 7000.
You should provide information about the name and address of the publisher, the retail price and (if the work isn't available commercially) a source from which the State Library can obtain additional copies.
