Social media, like it or loathe it, is part of many of
our lives. I must admit, I am not the most active person on social media but I
pop in and out of Facebook and like many writers I follow a variety of writers’
groups, most of them with a distinct leaning towards self-publishing.
I’ve been an indie author for many years, having
arrived there through the traditional publishing route after becoming
thoroughly disillusioned by the policies and practices of the aforesaid
traditional publishers. So, over the years, I’ve developed extensive experience
in all aspects of indie publishing, otherwise known as self-publishing.
Returning to social media, one thing that has struck
me recently is that many of the newer indie authors think that writing and
publishing their book is the end of the journey. All they then need to do is
market and sell their book. Few, it seems, are aware of their legal
responsibilities after publication.
On Facebook, I frequently see posts in various
writers’ groups expressing concern at the receipt of a request for their book
to be sent to the Legal Deposit Libraries. The authors concerned are usually
asking whether this request is genuine and whether anyone else has received one.
Responses often vary from ‘ignore it’; ‘it’s a scam’;
and even ‘if they want my books, they can buy them like everyone else’. This
type of comment often outweighs the few comments which give accurate
information.
This kind of social media interaction highlights the
lack of knowledge that a fair number of indie authors have about their legal
responsibilities to provide copies of their self-published book for legal
deposit.
Who is responsible?
Before I go any further, it might be best to define where the legal responsibility lies. Please note, this article refers to the
legal situation in the UK, although my understanding is that legal deposit is
required in most countries.
The legal responsibility to provide a published book
lies with the publisher of the book, not the author. But an indie author may
be, by definition, also an indie publisher depending on who has supplied the
ISBN.
It's simple really. Whoever owns the ISBN is the publisher. If the author has bought and paid for their own
ISBN, from the official ISBN agency for their country (Nielsen UK; Bowker US), then that author is also the publisher of the book to which the ISBN is
assigned. As such, the legal responsibility for legal deposit rests with him or
her. On the other hand, if an author has not purchased their own ISBN and has
accepted the free or cheap one supplied by printers and distributors such as
KDP, then that author is not the publisher and has no liability for legal
deposit. And, before you ask, I have no idea how KDP or other printers comply
with the legislation, if at all.
You can find most of the information on the British Library website.
The Legislation
This is what Section 1 (1) of the Legal
Deposit Libraries Act 2003 says:
"A person who publishes in the United Kingdom a work
to which this Act applies must at his own expense deliver a copy of it to an
address specified (generally or in a particular case) by any deposit library entitled
to delivery under this section." (quote)
Section 3 of the act deals with enforcement if the
publisher has not complied with the legislation, which allows the deposit
library to apply to the court to force the publisher to comply. However, in my experience,
I have never known this to happen, although that doesn’t mean it hasn’t
happened or it won’t happen.
The Legal Deposit responsibility
The legislation states under section 4 that you must
send one copy of your book to the British Library within one month of
publication. They do not request it. It is the publisher’s responsibility to
ensure this is done. However, if they receive no copy of your book, they will
send a notification to remind you of your statutory duty. It is this notice
that elicits the Facebook response I previously mentioned.
Section 5 of the legislation states that each Legal
Deposit Library, other than the British Library, is also entitled to a copy of
your book. But they must make this request. Therefore, you are under no
obligation to send these five copies until you receive a request for them. Once
you receive this request, you must send five copies of your book to the Agency
for Legal Deposit Libraries within one month.
After receipt of your book, the Agency for the Legal
Deposit Libraries sends one copy of it to the five Legal Deposit Libraries.
These libraries are – the Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford;
Cambridge University Library; The National Library of Scotland; the Library of
Trinity College, Dublin; and the National Library of Wales.
What happens to the books?
I have noted there is some general confusion about
what happens to these books because of a misunderstanding of the role of the
British Library and the Legal Deposit Libraries. It is not uncommon for the
assumption to be made that these libraries operate like your local library and
the books are there to be loaned to the public. However, this is not the case.
The books supplied for legal deposit are added to the archives of all books ever published in the UK. These publications become a research resource and are included in the deposit library’s online catalogue for the availability of users who can inspect the books within the deposit library premises.
As long as these archives exist our books will be there long after we are gone. Possibly the only chance of immortality we will ever have.
Word of warning
Do not make the mistake of combining the six books for
the British Library and the Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries into the
same delivery. I did that once, sending all six to the British Library. The
five books intended for the Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries went into limbo, never
to be seen again and I had to send a further five copies to the Agency for the
Legal Deposit Libraries. That is because the British Library is based at Boston
Spa, Wetherby, while the Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries is based in
Edinburgh.
Conclusion
Now that you have waded through this article, I trust
you have a clearer understanding of the subject of legal deposit and are able
to work out whether you are liable.
Do not despair though, because there are some other
things you can do after publication that will hopefully bring some small amount
of additional money to you. Registering for PLR (public lending right), for
example, and joining ALCS (the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society).
I will end by saying the journey to self-publication
is not an easy one and there are more aspects involved with publishing than
simply writing the book and uploading it for publication. That is why I devoted
an entire chapter in my book ‘Nuts & Bolts of Self-Publishing: How to
Self-Publish Ebooks and Paperbacks’ to what you must do and what you can do
after publication of your book.
Chris Longmuir
