The International Guide to Legal Deposit

Examines legal deposit legislation world-wide and compares and contrasts its provision in countries with obvious differences in their political, legal, social, educational and historical make-up.

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No definition of "legal deposit" that will suit every situation has yet been stated. However, in broad terms, legal deposit is a government provision which compels producers of all types of publications to deposit a certain number of copies of each publication in designated libraries or similar instutitions. The aim of this guide is to take a close look at legal deposit legislation world-wide and compare and contrast its provision in countries with obvious differences in their political, legal, social, educational and historical make-up. Much research has gone into part 2 of the work, which breaks new ground in bringing together in one place a tabular comparison and listing of the main legal deposit provisions, legislation and deposit libraries in up to 130 countries. Part 3 looks in detail at legal deposit legislation in 27 countries. The countries chosen for detailed study were selected on the basis of the differences in their geo-political make-up and because of some unique aspect of their legal deposit laws.
There are countries with very old legal deposit traditions (Poland), very new laws (Belgium), without legal deposit laws (Switzerland), with complex laws (France), with a federal system (Canada), with individual state legislation (USA), with simple laws (Belize). The extensive bibliography is also a feature of the guide, listing works from a great variety of countries and sources.