This month we are celebrating 10 years since a change in law, which made possible the preservation of published digital communications in the UK. Since April 2013, the British Library, as one of six legal deposit libraries for the UK, has been building a huge collection of newly published digital books, journal articles, archived web and other types of publication, many of which would otherwise have been at risk of loss. These are available for research and inspiration at the British Library, and other legal deposit library sites across the UK and Ireland.

Our collecting of ‘born digital’ UK publications is the newest part of our legal deposit mandate to collect as comprehensively as we can, and represent the breadth of experience, culture, society, science and politics in the UK. Legal deposit has existed for nearly 400 years, and is a responsibility on publishers in the UK and Ireland to make sure that copies of their publications are available at the British Library and the five other legal deposit libraries for the UK.

These libraries are the National Library of Scotland, National Library of Wales, Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, Cambridge University Library and the Library of Trinity College Dublin. The long history and inclusive aim of legal deposit means that you are able to access a huge and detailed collection of publications on all aspects of life from across the UK. For example, local newspapers (many of which are now available from our British Newspaper Archive); maps that can be used to research our changing landscapes; information about businesses; and government and official publications that document in detail social change and the growth of government and law. Legal deposit is a huge collaborative undertaking between the libraries. It relies on close relationships with publishers.

Collecting born digital publications

The change in law, which came into effect on 6 April 2013, meant that digital publications could also be collected under legal deposit. For many years previously, we had emphasised the preservation risks, especially for material that exists only in digital form. We were also aware of the great value of collecting and making available born digital publications. For example, it will not be possible to study the 21^st century without reference to communications that took place on the web.

Collecting, and making available, digital publications at a scale required by legal deposit, is a huge challenge. Working in close partnership, the six legal deposit libraries have had to develop whole new systems to identify, collect, preserve, describe and make available digital journal articles, books, maps, sheet music and official publications. This change has involved the creation of new types of collection, for example the UK Web Archive, or our experimental work in collecting new types of digital publication that are designed for mobile technology or user interaction.

In making this transformation, we have worked with publishers, their representatives and also other organisations working in book and journal distribution. This has been important as standardisation, for example of metadata and the structure of files for deposit, has a very big impact on whether and how far we can ensure that our processes work at the very large scale that they need to.

A vast and rich resource

We have achieved a lot over the past 10 years. Under digital legal deposit, we have collected more than 10 million journal articles and nearly 800,000 books. We make available 3 TB of digital mapping, including annual snapshots of Ordnance Survey large-scale mapping of Britain. The UK Web Archive is now one of the largest parts of our collection, containing millions of websites, billions of files and 1.3 PB (petabytes) of data. All this information is available to access at legal deposit libraries, and is preserved across the legal deposit library network.

These achievements matter because the web and other digital publications are often at risk of rapid change or loss. The digital archive that we are building holds in many cases the only surviving copy of millions of pages of digital content. These relate to events and subjects of great interest to current and future researchers. For example, our event-based collections in the UK Web Archive include general elections and referenda, international sporting events, and public health communication during the pandemic. These are available for use by researchers now and will be preserved for the future.

Over the past ten years, we have been able to learn more about the challenges of managing digital publications at this scale, and this includes access to publications. The law that requires deposit of digital publications also describes the terms under which those publications may be accessed.

This is important for enabling use in a way that reassures publishers of our commitment to protecting intellectual property. However, restrictions on access can be unexpected for readers and sometimes don’t take into account the ways in which authors and publishers intended their work to be shared (for example, using Open Access). Issues relating to access were a focus of Digital Library Futures, an important research project, led by the University of East Anglia, into the impacts of digital legal deposit on libraries and researchers.       

The changing landscape

At the same time, we have experienced radical changes in technology that have impacted on many areas of publishing and publisher behaviour. The publishing ecology in the UK and Ireland is rich and varied. It includes some of the best known and loved publishers in the world, and extends through a very ‘long tail’ of independent and self publishing.

Print on demand, crowdfunding platforms and a breath-taking number of book, zine and comics fairs across the UK and Ireland mean that the challenge of finding out about publications has become much more complex. Also, writers and artists are using technology in creative and innovative ways, making beautiful and engaging new publications that we need to learn how to collect and preserve. We will be showing some of these in our Digital Storytelling exhibition, opening on 2 June 2023.

A new framework for collecting

An anniversary is a time for celebration and for reflection. For our 10^th anniversary year, we have reviewed our priorities and values for how we develop legal deposit. These have recently been published in our Framework for Legal Deposit. This will shape our activity to 2030, and restates our commitments to sustainability, preservation and putting users at the heart of our planning around access.

We know that we have more work to do in improving the experience of using digital legal deposit, including our support for Open Access and for accessibility. We also know that we need to ensure that our collecting reflects the diversity of publishing, and voices represented, across the UK. This includes works published in new formats. We are able to reflect on how print and digital publishing is interconnected, and that authors, publishers and readers all make positive choices about the formats in which ideas are communicated.

Meeting these needs in a way that is realistic about the resources we have, and responsible about long term sustainability, is a challenge. Our partnership across the six legal deposit libraries, and the relationship that we have with publishers, are an important part of meeting that challenge.    

Ian Cooke

Head of Contemporary British and Irish Published Collections

 

Some of our favourite exhibitions, past and present, can be found in different locations throughout the country.

Displays leading on from Chinese and British, an exhibition currently running here in St Pancras, can be seen in our partner libraries across the UK. Marvellous and Mischievous: Literature's Young Rebels has recently come to York Art Gallery, and Paddington: the Story of a Bear will be appearing in a new location later this year.

 

Chinese and British

© Henry W and Albert A Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The New York Public Library.

Chinese communities have been calling the UK home for much longer than many realise. Tracing their heritage back to regions in East and South-East Asia, they’ve established a rich and diverse culture across the UK.

Chinese and British is currently at our partner libraries across the country, taking its lead from our current exhibition here at St Pancras. Reflect on this long history through photographs, manuscripts and interviews with those who have lived through it. Head to one of our partner libraries to see these bespoke displays augmented with local collections, stories and events.

Find out more.

 

Marvellous and Mischievous: Literature's Young Rebels

Zog © Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, 2010

Anyone can be a rebel, whether they are standing up for their beliefs, saving the planet or battling against the odds. See how characters from Pippi Longstocking to Princess Pearl break rules and defy conventions to make the world a better place for others.

Marvellous and Mischievous was originally opened here in St Pancras in 2019, and has since been touring around the country. After visiting Devon and Suffolk last year, the exhibition’s latest stop is at the York Art Gallery, where it will stay until June.

Showcasing around 40 books, manuscripts and original artwork, this family-friendly exhibition includes a diverse range of rebels, outsiders and spirited survivors from children’s literature spanning more than 300 years, inviting visitors to rediscover their favourite characters, as well as meeting new ones.

Find out more.

 

Paddington: the Story of a Bear

His heart-warming exploits and kind and caring nature have made Paddington one of the world’s most loved bears since his first appearance on the pages of A Bear Called Paddington. More than 60 years on, his stories still delight people of all ages around the world.

The exhibition will be hosted somewhere new this summer after journeying to Hitchin and Carlisle last year, originally appearing at the Library in 2021. Keep an eye out for the announcement soon! Fans, both big and small, can once again join Paddington as he sets off on a new adventure.

 

LibraryOn is a digital platform that connects public libraries and people. It celebrates what libraries do and what people love about them. To help raise the profile of libraries, LibraryOn also manages a £1.1m grant programme which will help public libraries in England improve their online presence and discoverability. The LibraryOn team – who are based at the British Library – update on the roll-out of this new programme.

The first stage of the LibraryOn digital grants programme will kick off on 1 March 2023. From this date we’ll be inviting library services in England to submit an Expression of Interest form outlining their initial ideas for a funded project.

This programme has been developed following a range of conversations with public libraries around the country on how it can be most relevant and useful. It will fund initiatives that make it easier for the public to find, discover, explore and access the range of services libraries offer. Projects could include upgrading existing websites or online offers and services, or piloting something brand new.

The grants will range from £10,000 to £70,000 and will be offered to applicants across the country to ensure geographical balance and will ensure it benefits a range of library services from small to large, rural to urban, and those with varied levels of digital literacy and activity. Any statutory library service in England is welcome to apply, including those run by mutuals, trusts and charities. Applications need to come from the service itself, rather than from individual branch libraries within it. Services can also apply as a consortium. The funding is for capital activity and requires applicants to confirm with their finance teams that the grant expenditure can be capitalised.

The grants are part of the wider LibraryOn programme of work and share the overall goal of increasing physical and digital footfall to public libraries by making it easier to find out about what they offer and engage with them online. While the LibraryOn website aims to provide a ‘shop window’ for public libraries at the national level, the grants will enable digital interventions at the local level. Together, they will begin to establish an effective and user-friendly digital ecosystem for the library sector where existing and new users alike can easily discover and access all that libraries have to offer.

Following sector feedback, the whole application process has been designed to be as light touch as possible to encourage a wide range of applications and to minimise impact on applicants. The initial Expression of Interest form will ask three simple questions about the project proposal and will be open for four weeks. Once these forms have been reviewed by a panel, including our LibraryOn team and others from the sector, invited applicants will be asked to submit a full application including more detail on their planned activity, expenditure and the intended outcomes. Applicants will find out if they have been successful by early summer and have six months to complete their projects.

Grant programme timeline:

1 March 2023: Application portal opens for Expressions of Interest
29 March 2023, 9am: Deadline for Expressions of Interest
12 April 2023: Applicants are informed whether they are invited to submit a full application
13 April 2023: Full application stage opens
15 May 2023: Deadline for full applications
31 May 2023: Applicants are informed whether their application was successful
12 June 2023: Project delivery period begins
22 December 2023: Project delivery period ends

The link to the application portal will be shared on LibraryOn.org/grants.

If you work in the public library sector and have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. You can also email us to subscribe to our sector newsletter for regular updates.

Article by Jill Brown, Digital Grants Manager