Preserving our cultural heritage through Legal Deposit: are we doing it right a workinprogress repor

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Preserving our cultural heritage through
Legal Deposit are we doing it right?(a
work-in-progress report)

• Cecilia Penzhorn
• Department of Information Science
• University of Pretoria

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What is legal deposit?

• A government provision which compels producers
  of all types of publications to deposit a certain
  number of copies of each publication in
  designated or similar institutions (Jasion,
  1991)
• Centuries-old institution (origins in 1500s in
  France)
• Implemented world-wide usually by means of
  legislation
• Purpose
• Preservation for current and future research
• Control creation bibliographies show case of
  SA publications
• Access use of publications in the collections

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Legal Deposit in South Africa

• Long history going back since British
  colonisation
• New legislation became necessary for South Africa
  due to
• changes in governmental structures after 1994
• role of audio-visual and electronic material as
  information carriers
• Legal Deposit Act No. 54 of 1997 commenced on 1st
  July 1998
• Legal Deposit Committee
• Requested investigation into state of legal
  deposit of books in South Africa

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• Who are the main role players?
• Legal Deposit libraries
• Implement the process of deposit
• Promote awareness and support of legal deposit
• They have to do it right!
• Publishers
• Responsible for delivery of material subject to
  legal deposit
• Need to be convinced of importance and value of
  legal deposit for them

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Methodology

• Qualitative semi-structured interviews - to
  determine subjective opinions of publishers and
  legal deposit libraries with regard to legal
  deposit as it is currently being implemented
• Interviews were scheduled with all five legal
  deposit libraries and with small, medium and
  large publishers in cities where deposit
  libraries are located, as well as in Johannesburg
• Data documented in form of tape-recorded accounts
  of interviews transcribed by independent person
• Data analysis - Thematic coding for grouping of
  responses to set questions and specifically for
  open-ended questions

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• Areas covered in interviews
• Set of general questions
• awareness of the legal deposit system
• opinions regarding purpose of legal deposit
• Pre-determined questions on issues covered in
  legal deposit legislation
• Number of copies deposited (5) costs time of
  delivery types of publications to be delivered
  communication etc.
• Open-ended questions
• Anything else not covered during interview
• Suggestions for tracing non-compliant publishers

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• Main issues arising from interviews
• Awareness of legal deposit
• Little knowledge of legal deposit in publishing
  houses excepting persons directly concerned
• Legal deposit never discussed generally in
  libraries only ad hoc between persons working
  with it
• Neither publishers nor libraries thought it
  necessary that authors be fully informed
• Most publishers did not know what the National
  Bibliography (SANB) was

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• Legislation issues
• Smaller publishers unhappy with no of copies (5)
  to be deposited also costs of smaller print
  runs
• Time of delivery (14 days) not adhered to
• Publishers not aware of time set in Act
• Libraries not concerned as long as they send
• Problems with definition of publication and
  subsequent exemption from legal deposit
• Publishers get ISBNs for posters, pamphlets,
  diaries, calendars
• When is a work a luxury edition and how to
  define financial hardship as set out in Act?
• Publishers concerned with access through
  interlending etc. commercial interests fewer
  books may be bought

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• Communication
• Lack of general communication between publishers
  and libraries e.g. did not know name of anyone in
  any of libraries
• Lack of communication re legal deposit from
  publishers point of view e.g most were unaware
  of penalties for non-deposit
• Very little communication between libraries
  themselves regarding legal deposit
• Complaint of libraries regarding lack of
  communication with Legal Deposit Committee and
  follow-up on compliance matters

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• Suggestions for solutions derived from
  open-ended questions
• 1. Create awareness and stay up-to-date
• Publishers must be made aware of legal deposit on
  a regular basis
• Regular new books lists
• Better utilisation of the SANB
• Web-sites of libraries Very important
• Feeling of publishers especially, that these
  matters do not get enough attention, if any

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• 2. Marketing and promotion
• Publish articles on legal deposit
• Advertise in newspapers, on radio, television
• More contact with bookshops, printers, PASA
  (Publishers Association of South Africa), other
  libraries
• None, or very little of the above is being done

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• 3. Identification and tracing of non-compliant
  publishers
• Use ISBN lists
• This is done in many countries
• National library does not do this on regular
  basis
• CIP
• South African service?
• PASA
• Could play active role in creating awareness
• Printers
• Smaller and private publishers can be made aware

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• General remarks
• Publishers
• Have to deposit because legislation demands it
• Majority interviewed said they saw no benefit of
  legal deposit for them or public
• Gave good ideas for tracing non-compliant
  publishers, but
• No loss if smaller publishers could not be traced
  - who wants to know about someone elses family
  tree in any case..!

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• General remarks
• Libraries
• We have so much other work not enough time or
  staff to concentrate on legal deposit
• Why does legal deposit have such low priority in
  SA?
• System does not work perhaps new law is
  needed
• How necessary is legal deposit really in the
  bigger picture in South Africa?

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• Some questions conclusions
• Why is this investigation important?
• Electronic environment find solutions for print
  so that we can be able to handle legal deposit of
  these new types of formats
• Preservation of indigenous knowledge/culture
  another important, and to a great extent
  unexplored, area of implementation

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• So
• are we doing it right?
• Not quite number of areas for improvement
• Attitude towards legal deposit and its role in SA
• Libraries web-sites, awareness etc.
• Communication
• Promoting legal deposit
• and more

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• But
• can we do it right?
• Yes
• Legal Deposit Committee investigation
• Interviews already created awareness
• Implementations by National Library e.g. legal
  deposit coordinator from 1 August 2005
• Possible compliance statistics
• Report, suggestions future cooperation with all
  role players