Cambridge University Library can collect and preserve the UK's digital publishing output, particularly that which will support current and future research.
— Anne Jarvis
Regulations which came into force on Saturday (April 6) will enable six major libraries to collect, preserve and provide long term access to the increasing proportion of the nation’s cultural and intellectual output that appears in digital form – including blogs, e-books and the entire UK web domain.
From this point forward, the British Library, Cambridge University Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the Bodleian Libraries, and Trinity College Library in Dublin will have the right to receive a copy of every UK electronic publication, on the same basis as they have received print publications such as books, magazines and newspapers for several centuries.
The regulations, known as legal deposit, will ensure that ephemeral materials like websites can be collected, preserved forever and made available to future generations of researchers, providing the fullest possible record of life and society in the UK in the 21st century for people 50, 100, even 200 or more years in the future.
Cambridge University Librarian Anne Jarvis said: “I greatly welcome this landmark legislation as it means that Cambridge University Library can collect and preserve the UK's digital publishing output, particularly that which will support current and future research.”
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Image: Graphic showing worldwide Internet usage
Credit: Carna Botnet
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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