Libraries

Copyright Libraries

The publisher of any book first published in the State shall, within one month after the publication, deliver, at his or her own expense, a copy of the book to each of the following—

• the authority having control of the National Library of Ireland,
• the authority having control of the library of Trinity College, Dublin,
• the authority having control of the library of the University of Limerick,
• the authority having control of the library of Dublin City University, and
• the Board of the British Library,
• and four copies of the book for or in accordance with the directions of the authority having control of the National University of Ireland for use in the four constituent universities of that University.

Boards and authorities thereby taking delivery of books shall give a written receipt for every book delivered to them.For the purposes of this obligtion , “book” includes every part or division of a book, pamphlet, sheet of letterpress, sheet of music, map, plan, chart or table separately published, but shall not include any second or subsequent edition of a book unless such edition contains additions or alterations either in the letterpress or in the maps, plans, prints or other engravings belonging thereto.

Exceptions

The Minister may, on an application of a Board or authority make regulations exempting in respect of the Board or authority making the application, publications wholly or
mainly in the nature of trade advertisements, or any class of work as may be specified in those regulations, and it shall not be necessary for the publisher of any publication so excepted to deliver the publication to that Board or authority or for such Board or authority to give a receipt unless as respects any particular publication a written demand for the delivery of that work is made by the Board or authority concerned.

Format

A copy of a book delivered to the authority having control of the National Library of Ireland or the Board of the British Library shall be a copy of the whole book with all maps and illustrations belonging to that book and, , finished in the same manner as the copy in that form which is superior in quality to any other copy in that form of the book available.

The Boards or authorities may before delivery of a book is made , request that a book be delivered in a particular form, being one of the forms in which the book is published and the publisher shall deliver it in the form requested.

Where the above obligation applies to the publisher of a book , a Board or authority referred to may, by notice in writing given to the publisher, request that the copy or copies of the book that the Board or authority is entitled to have delivered to it be delivered to it in physical form or electronic form, or both, and the publisher shall comply with that request unless the publisher has already given the copy or copies in the form or forms requested before the publisher received that notice.

Where a copy of a book requested is delivered in a form other than an electronic form, the Board or other authorities may request, in addition to that copy, a copy in an
electronic form readable by means of an electronic retrieval system and on such request being made a copy in electronic form shall be delivered by the publisher to the Board or authority concerned.

Digital Copies

Where, on or after the commencement of the 2019 Act, a digital publication is first published in the State by a publisher, a Board or authority may, by notice in writing given to the publisher, request that the publisher complies with that obligation in so far as it relates to the Board or authority making the request, as if the digital publication were a book.

Digital publication’ means any publication published online or offline which is made available to the public in a medium other than print (including any publication in any digital or electronic or another technological form, but does not include any sound recording or film or any combination thereof).

UK Libraries

The publisher of any book first published in the State shall, where a demand is made in writing by the authority having control of each of the following libraries—

• the Bodleian Library, Oxford,
• the University Library, Cambridge,
• the National Library of Scotland, and
• the National Library of Wales,

before the expiration of 12 months after the book is published, deliver within one month after receipt of that written demand or, where the demand was so made before the book was published, within one month after publication, to an address in Dublin named in the demand a copy of that book for, or in accordance with the directions of, that authority.

In the case of an encyclopaedia, newspaper, review, magazine or work published in a series of numbers or parts, the written demand may include all numbers or parts of the work which may subsequently be published.

Offence

Where a publisher fails to comply with the above obligation he or she is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500 class D fine and the person shall be liable to be ordered to comply with the obligation.