Policy Documents

Departmental Publications

NICS Government Departments publish a multitude of documents in both print and electronic format. Below is some guidance to Departmental Publishing Branches on their legal obligations and advice on the control and exploitation of Departmental publications.

Legal Deposit

Departments are required under the Copyright Act, 1911 to send one copy of all of their publications to the Legal Deposit libraries. This is in addition to the copies required to be sent to the Northern Ireland Assembly and to Westminster, for which guidance is available from OFMDFM Machinery of Government Division, telephone 028 9037 8055 (Network 88055).

There are six Legal Deposit libraries named under the Act:

• The British Library

• The Bodleian Library, Oxford

• The University Library, Cambridge

• The National Library, Scotland

• The National Library of Wales

• The Library of Trinity College, Dublin

In addition to these six libraries, the following three organisations have made representations to NI Ministers and been given similar status to the Legal Deposit libraries and should be treated as such:

• The McClay Library, Queen's University Belfast

• Northern Ireland Publications Resource (NIPR)

• TSO Bibliographic Department

The addresses for despatch of publications to the above libraries are given in the Appendix.

Your Departmental Librarian should be able to provide additional advice on this matter. In many Departments, the Librarian will arrange for the despatch of publications to the above organizations on behalf of publishing branches. If your Department does not have a library, you can obtain advice from Kirby Porter, NICS Principal Librarian, at DFP, Craigantlet Buildings, Stoney Road, Belfast. Telephone: 028 9016 3293 E-mail: kirby.porter@dfpni.gov.uk

National Library of Ireland

The National Library of Ireland has asked if NI Departments would include the Library on their list for distribution of publications. The Library has indicated that its collection of official publications is an important resource for researchers and it would like to ensure that its substantial collection of Northern Ireland publications is as complete as possible. While there is no legal requirement to do so, Departments are asked to give favourable consideration to the request and to send one copy of those publications they would normally send to the Legal Deposit Libraries to the National Library of Ireland at the address given in the Appendix.

Definition of publication for the purpose of legal deposit

A work is said to be published when it is distributed to the public. This includes books, pamphlets, maps, journals and newsletters. Exceptions would include diaries, forms, posters and other material containing little textual context. Legislation is also excluded as the copyright for legislation resides with TSO, who are responsible for its legal deposit.

Archive Copies

It is important that Publishing Branches send two copies of every publication produced to their Departmental Library (where one exists). This will ensure that copies of Departmental Publications are retained permanently and enable the Library to produce a list of available publications.

Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Publication Scheme

Publications should be available on Departmental Websites on the day of publication - your Departmental Information Manager or Website Co-ordinator will advise on the format, for example .pdf, Word, etc.)

International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN)

Ideally, all publications should carry an ISBN. This is a unique identifier that allows publications to be more easily traced. The allocation of ISBNs in the UK is made by the:

Nielsen UK ISBN Agency
3rd Floor, Midas House
62 Goldsworth Road
Woking
Surrey
GU21 6LQ
Tel: 01483 712 215 (9.00am to 5.00pm)
Fax: 01483 712 214
e-mail: isbn.agency@nielsen.com

Web site: www.isbn.nielsenbook.co.uk

Some Departmental Librarians have obtained ISBN publisher prefixes for their Departments and will be able to assign ISBNs to publications.

Title Page for Departmental Publications

All publications should include a title page. The information given on the title page is intended to provide important information about the publication.

The front of the title page should give:

• the full title and subtitle of the work

• the volume number, if any

• the series title and number, if any

• name of author(s), compiler(s), or editor(s)

• name of publisher or publishing division if this bears a separate name

• date of publication

The reverse of the title page should give:

• name and full registered address of the publisher or publishing division

• edition, if this is not the first edition

• mention of an earlier edition of the same work with a different title

• copyright notice

• ISBN

Note

If a publication is being published under legislative authority the legislation should be cited. This citation should appear on the front of the title page. Advice on the precise wording of the statement can be obtained from OFMDFM.

Appendix

The British Library	Legal Deposit Office The British Library Boston Spa Wetherby West Yorkshire LS23 7BY
Bodleian Library, Oxford University Cambridge National Library National Library of Scotland National Library of Wales Library of Trinity College, Dublin	Agent for the Copyright Libraries 161 Causewayside Edinburgh EH9 1PH (5 copies)
Library, Queen's University Belfast	Official Publications Department The McClay Library Queen's University Belfast 10 College Park Belfast BT7 1LP
Northern Ireland Publications Resource (NIPR)	NIPR Co-ordinator Linen Hall Library 17 Donegall Square North Belfast BT1 5BG
TSO Bibliographic Department	TSO Parliamentary Press Mandela Way Southwark London SE1 5SS
National Library of Ireland	Official Publications Section National Library of Ireland Kildare Street Dublin 2

| Home | Email Us | Catalogue | Contacts | FAQs | E-Resources | Journals | Policy Docs | Search |