Peter Constable wrote: > Hmmm... If I (or anyone else) were to forward to the British Library every > item I post to this or other public lists or fora, or anything else I'd like > to have publicly recorded, they'll provide a permanent, public record?
No. For Legal Deposit, there needs to be an association with the United Kingdom, as either where the item was produced, or published; or both. Also the item must be published. However, given an association with the United Kingdom, as either where the item was produced, or published; or both; then the answer is, with some exceptions, broadly yes. However, if someone from outside the United Kingdom sent the British Library something as a gift, then that is a separate matter from Legal Deposit and I have been advised that the matter would be dealt with by a different department and the item would be sent to a Curator and a decision would be made as to whether to keep the item. There is a web page leading to lots of information about Legal Deposit. http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/legaldeposit/index.html http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/777/regulation/13/made However, sound is accepted when it is part of a larger item. So, for example, my sound recording, a .wav file, embedded in a pdf with some notes, was accepted. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo/the_mobile_art_shop.pdf Actually, the pdf is smaller than the original .wav file due to a lossless compression when exporting the pdf from the Serif PagePlus desktop publishing program. If playing the sound, please note that there can be problems with some browser and pdf reader combinations. The best thing is to download the file to local storage, then open Adobe Reader, then open the file from within Adobe Reader. I have deposited various types of item, including .pdf files (including three pdfs each with a sound recording) and .TTF files. I think that I was the first person to deposit a .TTF file. > I would have expected them to be pretty selective of what things they decide > to hang onto. The idea is to gather a collection of all of the cultural output of the United Kingdom. So the collection policy is comprehensive, with a few exceptions as to type of publication, yet not based on any assessment of literary merit of an item of a collected type. Items are gathered by the British Library automated harvester program from my family webspace from time to time, yet for some items I send a copy as an email attachment at or soon after publication and receive an email receipt so that I know that the item is stored at the British Library. William Overington 23 October 2015
