Legal deposit

All Queensland publishers, including government departments, commercial organisations, clubs, churches, societies and private individuals, are required by law to deposit a copy of their publications with both the State Library of Queensland and the Queensland Parliamentary Library. The requirement is contained in part 8 of the Libraries Act 1988 (Qld)

Benefits

Preservation of publications
Depositing publications ensures the works of authors and publishers will survive for use by future generations. The State Library provides environmental conditions specifically designed to ensure the long-term preservation of the collections.
Assisting research
Our comprehensive collections of Queensland publications allows for research into all aspects of Queensland life, culture and artistic, commercial, technical and scientific endeavour.

What must be deposited?

All published items: books, periodicals such as newsletters or annual reports, newspapers, magazines, journals, sheet music, maps, plans or charts; non-print materials such as: audio tapes, videorecordings, films, disks, microfilm or microfiche; electronic publications.
Material is considered to have been published if reproductions of the material or edition have been supplied (whether by sale or otherwise) to the general public.
Different editions: If you publish material in various forms of differing quality, a copy of the finest quality must be deposited. For example, if both a hard-cover edition and a paperback edition are published, one copy of the hard-cover edition must be deposited.

A copy that is numbered and signed by the author is not considered to be finer than another copy of the same edition that is not numbered or signed. A copy of a second or later edition of any material does not have to be deposited unless it contains additions or alterations. If a second or later edition does contain additions or alterations then the finest copy of the edition must also be deposited. If a book is reprinted with a change of title, or by a different publisher, it is considered to be altered and must be deposited.

Where to deposit publications

One copy is to be forwarded within one month of publication to:

Legal Deposit (Queensland)
Discovery
State Library of Queensland
PO Box 3488
South Brisbane QLD 4101
Ph: (07) 3840 7852
Fax: (07) 3842 9126
Email: legaldeposit@slq.qld.gov.au

A further legal deposit obligation may exist with the following libraries:

Parliamentary Librarian
Parliamentary Library
Parliament House
George Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
Ph: (07) 3406 7199
Fax: (07) 3210 0172
Email: Library.inquiries@parliament.qld.gov.au

Under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth), a copy of any work published in Australia may be required for deposit with the National Library of Australia in Canberra.

Legal Deposit Unit
National Library of Australia
Canberra ACT 2600
Ph: (02) 6262 1312
Fax: (02) 6273 4492
Email: legaldep@nla.gov.au
National Library's Legal Deposit brochure [

1.3 MB]

Electronic publications

Legal deposit legislation also applies to electronic publications and recordings. The State Library is able to save and preserve electronic publications in the Library's digital repository. One of the options available to people depositing e-publications is a deposit wizard.

Deposit online using our deposit wizard