New Zealand and Canada

This profile considers legal (aka statutory) deposit schemes in New Zealand and Canada, supplementing the discussion in the Intellectual Property and Publishing guides on this site.

It covers -

• introduction
• print in New Zealand
• print in Canada
• digital formats

     introduction

Legislation and practice in New Zealand and Canada provides a perspective on developments in Australia, reflecting

• the influence of 19th Century UK library and copyright legislation
• the dominance of overseas publishers (particularly those based in London and New York) in an open economy
• evolving perceptions of the shape and value of national cultural collections
• exchange of personnel, particularly prior to 1960

All three countries have moved cautiously in extending traditional print-oriented legal deposit legislation to cover film, sound, physical formal electronic publications and online content.

     print in New Zealand

In New Zealand legal deposit is covered in Part 4 of the National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa) Act 2003 (here). That legislation, in force from 5 May 2003, replaced the National Library Act 1965.

The 2003 Act applies to public documents (defined in the Act) issued in print. It also applies to both physical format electronic publications and online documents, including deposit of physical format items and copying of internet content.

Publishers of print material are required to provide two copies of printed published works: one copy is for the general collections of the National Library and one for the Alexander Turnbull Library. A publisher is identified as

any person, group or organisation of any kind responsible for releasing, or making available, a public document to any section of the public – for sale or free of charge.

The definition includes individuals, clubs, churches and incorporated societies.

Print material includes

• Almanacs, calendars and diaries that have text
• Annual reports and Yearbooks
• Books
• Brochures, Booklets, pamphlets and leaflets
• Company profiles and Prospectuses
• Conference papers and proceedings
• Directories
• Discussion documents, Working papers and Reports
• Guidebooks
• Histories of families, groups, districts and organisations
• Kits containing printed text
• Loose-leaf publications and all updates
• Magazines, newspapers and journals
• Maps, charts, plans and tables
• Microfiche and microfilm
• Newspapers and Newsletters
• Sheet music

The Act permits National Library staff to "possess, copy, store in electronic form (whether off-line or on-line), and use" a document given to or made by the Library.

Section 34 (3) of the Act specifies that the Library may make up to three copies of a deposited item available for use by members of the public, on or off the Library's premises. An item may only be made available on the internet if the publisher had previously made that item accessible without restriction.

New Zealand copyright law applies to items deposited with the National Library.

     print in Canada

Legal deposit in Canada is covered by the National Library Act and the National Library Book Deposit Regulations 1995 (LBDR).

Canadian publishers are required to provide the National Library of Canada with

• two copies of all books, pamphlets, serial publications, microforms, spoken word sound recordings, video-recordings, publications issued in physical format electronic publications such as CD-ROM, CD-I and floppy disks.
• one copy of musical sound recordings and multi-media kits.

Legal deposit does not apply if three or fewer copies are made.

As with national library legislation in other countries, the initial law applied primarily to books but has been extended to encompass serial publications, sound and video recordings, microforms and multimedia CD-ROMs. In 1995 it was extended to other physical format electronic publications.

As with Australia and New Zealand, the deposit regime is independent of copyright law. Deposition with the National Library does not involve registration for copyright protection.

     digital formats

In principle the Canadian legislation covers online electronic documents as part of the broad definition of 'books'. In practice there is uncertainty about whether they qualify as being 'published'.

A national Electronic Publications Pilot Project (EPPP) was conducted in Canada during 1994 and 1995 to explore the deposit of online electronic publications. Based on recommendations from that project the National Library has continued to collect electronic publications on a voluntary deposit basis, with an emphasis on publications not available in any other format.

In New Zealand physical format electronic publications continue to be purchased or obtained by voluntary deposit, pending implementation of provisions relating to mandatory deposit of electronic documents.

The 2003 Act requires the Minister to consult publishers or representatives of publishers

likely to be affected by the proposed requirement for electronic documents about any terms and conditions relating to format, public access or other matters.

That consultation (expected to take a minimum of three months) commenced on 16 August 2004 and is expected to result in promulgation of the National Library Requirement (Electronic Documents) Notice 2004. The consultation centres on a discussion document (PDF)be issued.

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