Digital Library Futures: The Impact of E-Legal Deposit in the Academic Sector
Lead Research Organisation:
University of East Anglia
Department Name: Art, Media and American Studies
Abstract
This research will answer the following main question: what is the impact of e-legal deposit changes upon UK academic deposit libraries and their users? The project's principal contribution will be to provide a detailed account of the impact of e-legal deposit, applied to the specific case of academic deposit libraries. Legal deposit plays a significant role in ensuring the systematic preservation of the world's published written heritage. In the UK, it provides a regulatory framework for a trusted group of national and academic libraries to collect published textual materials in print form. The 2013 introduction of electronic legal deposit incorporated digital materials for the first time, taking steps to secure the UK's "Digital Universe." Despite this expansion, legal deposit is still conceived primarily as a way to preserve collections for the long term, with restrictions on how the materials can be used by contemporary researchers. However, published research into legal deposit often focuses on its regulatory and long-term preservation aspects. There is relatively little research into how e-legal deposit has affected the UK academic institutions tasked with enacting the regulations, or indeed their users. As a result, there is a need for user-focused research which explores how legal deposit collections are accessed and used, and to what extent these collections should support contemporary research in academic libraries.
We will produce two case studies, in collaboration with two major libraries: The Bodleian Libraries, and the Cambridge University Library. We will focus on two specific groups which are directly affected by the outlined changes: academic libraries with regulatory responsibilities for legal deposit; and the academic and non-academic users of these libraries. While both groups have been the focus of discussion during the conception and implementation of e-legal deposit, this research will shed light on the wider social, cultural and institutional implications of the legislation. It will provide insights into how researchers in academia uses electronic legal deposit collections, and apply these to wider social and cultural issues including digital inclusion, information democratisation, and the role of libraries in addressing the digital divide in access to knowledge. In doing so, it will interrogate the benefits and challenges of legal deposit in the digital age, and will address the tension between a regulatory framework designed with long-term preservation in mind, and developments in academia and society which have made digital scholarship and digital inclusion vital for full participation in civic life.
The project will engage with key figures involved in policymaking, implementation and collection development, as well as including the voices of contemporary users whose information behaviour incorporates these important collections. We will produce a series of journal articles and conference papers, provide a strong online presence for non-expert audiences, and engaged with users and creators of digital resources. The research will culminate in a white paper, to be presented a public symposium, providing a forum to build momentum for further research into the use of legal deposit collections. A central aim is to provide insights into how e-legal deposit in its current form interacts with emerging trends in digital scholarship and digital inclusion, and with existing library services. The UK is one of the nations leading the way in e-legal deposit, and this research has the potential to provide a vital and timely intervention for the international community as they face similar challenges. It will contribute not only to understanding and developing digital collections for academic deposit libraries, but also to international debates on the future of libraries in the digital age.
We will produce two case studies, in collaboration with two major libraries: The Bodleian Libraries, and the Cambridge University Library. We will focus on two specific groups which are directly affected by the outlined changes: academic libraries with regulatory responsibilities for legal deposit; and the academic and non-academic users of these libraries. While both groups have been the focus of discussion during the conception and implementation of e-legal deposit, this research will shed light on the wider social, cultural and institutional implications of the legislation. It will provide insights into how researchers in academia uses electronic legal deposit collections, and apply these to wider social and cultural issues including digital inclusion, information democratisation, and the role of libraries in addressing the digital divide in access to knowledge. In doing so, it will interrogate the benefits and challenges of legal deposit in the digital age, and will address the tension between a regulatory framework designed with long-term preservation in mind, and developments in academia and society which have made digital scholarship and digital inclusion vital for full participation in civic life.
The project will engage with key figures involved in policymaking, implementation and collection development, as well as including the voices of contemporary users whose information behaviour incorporates these important collections. We will produce a series of journal articles and conference papers, provide a strong online presence for non-expert audiences, and engaged with users and creators of digital resources. The research will culminate in a white paper, to be presented a public symposium, providing a forum to build momentum for further research into the use of legal deposit collections. A central aim is to provide insights into how e-legal deposit in its current form interacts with emerging trends in digital scholarship and digital inclusion, and with existing library services. The UK is one of the nations leading the way in e-legal deposit, and this research has the potential to provide a vital and timely intervention for the international community as they face similar challenges. It will contribute not only to understanding and developing digital collections for academic deposit libraries, but also to international debates on the future of libraries in the digital age.
Planned Impact
This study will benefit the following groups: the international library sector; users of academic libraries in the United Kingdom, including non-academic users who rely on academic libraries for physical and digital collections; and policymakers and strategic legal deposit role holders. They will benefit from direct involvement with the project, knowledge exchange at symposia and events, and access to project findings.
UK deposit libraries will, for the first time, have access to a robust evaluation of the impact of e-legal deposit on their institutions and users. The following institutions will benefit directly as project partners: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford; and Cambridge University Library. They jointly employ around 900 FTE staff, who will gain insights into the use of their collections, and benefit from knowledge exchange with academic researchers and the international library community. They will improve their knowledge of methods for undertaking impact assessment of their collections, and strengthen communication channels with their user community. This will lead to an increased ability for academic deposit libraries to serve their users more effectively through a deeper understanding of their needs and behaviours. It will also allow them to develop outreach activities which will expand long-term access to their collections.
The international library community will benefit from the project's contribution to legal deposit best practice: they will receive access to the white paper, and a clear set of guidelines and recommendations for developing e-legal deposit collections. By addressing a hitherto neglected area of digital library practice, the project will hold global relevance for nations yet to implement similar regulations. The UK is one of few countries to implement e-legal deposit to date, and is unique among them because it involves academic libraries. This perspective will hold relevance for nations such as Sweden which are formally introducing e-legal deposit in coming years, and others such as the US and Australia which currently rely on informal agreements for electronic materials. While the scope of the project is specific and national, then, the findings have the potential to influence international debates on e-legal deposit implementation.
Internal and external users of academic libraries will also benefit. These users are not solely drawn from the academic community: the Bodleian served around 31,000 external users in person in 2014, 40% of all its readers, while the Cambridge UL recorded 235,000 unique visitors to its free digital library. Both aim to increase participation by providing free digitised collections which are actively promoted through outreach activities, and reach audiences of hundreds of thousands. This project will therefore benefit current and future users of the partners' premises and digital collections. The long-term benefits to users could include improved collection development policies, recommendations for interface development, and addressing the limitations around access to e-legal deposit materials, which will improve library collections for users and widen participation.
There are associated benefits for individuals and groups involved in formulating legal deposit regulations, either in an advisory or advocacy capacity. The project will provide a timely opportunity to reflect on the impact of the 2013 legal deposit regulations, providing evidence for future consultations that could help such individuals to help shape policy. Our plan to work with the Joint Committee for Legal Deposit through our project partners will directly benefit areas of their remit, including: evaluating the effectiveness of non-print legal deposit regulations; and assessing the regulations in practice. We have recruited a broadly experienced steering group, which has overlap with the groups outlined above and will help to secure benefits for the major stakeholder communities.
UK deposit libraries will, for the first time, have access to a robust evaluation of the impact of e-legal deposit on their institutions and users. The following institutions will benefit directly as project partners: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford; and Cambridge University Library. They jointly employ around 900 FTE staff, who will gain insights into the use of their collections, and benefit from knowledge exchange with academic researchers and the international library community. They will improve their knowledge of methods for undertaking impact assessment of their collections, and strengthen communication channels with their user community. This will lead to an increased ability for academic deposit libraries to serve their users more effectively through a deeper understanding of their needs and behaviours. It will also allow them to develop outreach activities which will expand long-term access to their collections.
The international library community will benefit from the project's contribution to legal deposit best practice: they will receive access to the white paper, and a clear set of guidelines and recommendations for developing e-legal deposit collections. By addressing a hitherto neglected area of digital library practice, the project will hold global relevance for nations yet to implement similar regulations. The UK is one of few countries to implement e-legal deposit to date, and is unique among them because it involves academic libraries. This perspective will hold relevance for nations such as Sweden which are formally introducing e-legal deposit in coming years, and others such as the US and Australia which currently rely on informal agreements for electronic materials. While the scope of the project is specific and national, then, the findings have the potential to influence international debates on e-legal deposit implementation.
Internal and external users of academic libraries will also benefit. These users are not solely drawn from the academic community: the Bodleian served around 31,000 external users in person in 2014, 40% of all its readers, while the Cambridge UL recorded 235,000 unique visitors to its free digital library. Both aim to increase participation by providing free digitised collections which are actively promoted through outreach activities, and reach audiences of hundreds of thousands. This project will therefore benefit current and future users of the partners' premises and digital collections. The long-term benefits to users could include improved collection development policies, recommendations for interface development, and addressing the limitations around access to e-legal deposit materials, which will improve library collections for users and widen participation.
There are associated benefits for individuals and groups involved in formulating legal deposit regulations, either in an advisory or advocacy capacity. The project will provide a timely opportunity to reflect on the impact of the 2013 legal deposit regulations, providing evidence for future consultations that could help such individuals to help shape policy. Our plan to work with the Joint Committee for Legal Deposit through our project partners will directly benefit areas of their remit, including: evaluating the effectiveness of non-print legal deposit regulations; and assessing the regulations in practice. We have recruited a broadly experienced steering group, which has overlap with the groups outlined above and will help to secure benefits for the major stakeholder communities.
Publications
Gooding PM
(2018)
Off the Map: The Past, Present, and Possible Futures of Libraries
Gooding PM
(2019)
Towards User-Centric Evaluation of UK Non-Print Legal Deposit
Gooding P
(2020)
Towards Critical Addressability in Digital Library User Studies
Gooding P
(2021)
Identifying the future direction of legal deposit in the United Kingdom: The Digital Library Futures approach
in Journal of Documentation
| Description | Legal deposit, which ensures the systematic preservation of published output for future generations, has existed in English law since 1662, and British law since 1710. The Copyright Act 1911, updated by the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, makes provision for six legal deposit libraries to receive copies of print publications including books, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, sheet music, and maps. In 2013, legal deposit was extended to non-print publications published online and offline, including eBooks, eJournals, electronic mapping, the UK Web Archive and other electronic materials. While the regulations support the systematic collection of born-digital publications, they also restrict access to this collection to protect the interests of rights-holders and content creators. The aim of Digital Library Futures was therefore to understand how the posterity-driven mission of NPLD interacts with contemporary access and usage. We worked with the Bodleian Libraries , University of Oxford and Cambridge University Library, with the support of the British Library, to understand the impact of NPLD upon two key stakeholders: 1.) academic deposit libraries in the UK; and 2.) users of academic deposit libraries in the UK. Our findings therefore focus on scholarly and non-commercial usage of NPLD collections. We collected a broad primary evidence base: expert interviews with librarians, academics, publishers, and policymakers; surveys of current users of academic deposit libraries; and webometric data relating to usage of NPLD collections. We draw here upon this robust empirical evidence to propose a new paradigm for evaluating NPLD in the UK. Our conclusions approach the research questions in terms of value and impact. First, we found that the NPLD regulations were seen as a huge success when considered in terms of the intrinsic value of legal deposit collections. Our interviewees emphasised the prestige and posterity value of NPLD collections; they associated NPLD with the core mission of legal deposit libraries; and they valued the unique digital materials that comprise NPLD collections. Legal deposit regulations therefore remain essential to ensure a comprehensive national collection that will provide a vital resource for scholars in years to come. However, the instrumental value of NPLD has not been fully realised. As a result, the impact of NPLD upon users of academic deposit libraries has been limited and is likely to remain so until several aspects of NPLD access are addressed. First, access protocols for NPLD fail to support information seeking behaviour and user needs in respect of digital library collections. Users increasingly rely upon personal devices and specialist software, and remote access to materials, whereas NPLD was designed to mirror access to print legal deposit collections. Second, the access arrangements restrict all actions relating to NPLD materials, except for those allowed in the regulations, and in perpetuity. The restrictions have already led to problems: the libraries can only provide accessible copies to visually impaired users, whereas the Equality Act 2010 extends these rights to all disabled users; and text and data mining with NPLD collections is not allowed despite the 2014 exception to copyright law. Third, little work has been done by academic legal deposit libraries to connect specific user groups with relevant NPLD collections for various reasons. Web archives, for instance, are still poorly used by scholars, and it is therefore difficult for librarians to be clear about the value of the UK Legal Deposit Web Archive to researchers. Finally, the NPLD regulations were formulated with reference to print materials, despite the differing affordances of digital media and the associated changes in publishing, academic practice, and information seeking behaviour. The continuation of print as a default reference point shows a misunderstanding of the changing requirements for collecting, preserving, and making accessible contemporary digital collections that risks diminishing their relevance to users. Our research found little evidence of a strategic approach to considering NPLD collections as a service to users, which is a major contributor to the above problems. The existing literature focuses on the following four pillars of NPLD strategy: collection development, including selection and metadata; long-term digital preservation of NPLD materials; technical aspects including systems capture, ingest, and standards; and regulatory aspects. Studies that focus upon users of NPLD collections are notably absent. Going forward, users should be understood as the fifth pillar upon which to develop effective NPLD strategy. To establish users as core to NPLD, we propose an ongoing user-focused evaluation framework to influence NPLD planning and implementation. This framework should be informed by longitudinal data collection and analysis, with the aim of making NPLD collections accessible and meaningful for users. We propose that the framework should be built upon the following five tenets: 1. The long-term beneficiaries of NPLD are users, not publishers or libraries. 2. The diversity of digital media reflect a major change in information sharing, society, libraries, and research communities, which necessitates re-evaluation of the assumption that print media remain the most useful reference point for defining access protocols. 3. Publishers are entitled to protect their commercial and legitimate interests but the impact of Open Access upon academic publishing and licensing cannot be ignored. 4. Libraries must be empowered to take actions to make collections accessible, usable, and meaningful, based on evidenced trends in user behaviour and user needs. 5. The first four tenets require continued collaboration between libraries, publishers and user groups. |
| Exploitation Route | Our research may be taken forward by the education sector, by using it as an example of best-practice in library service evaluation and methodology. It has already been incorporated into teaching at the University of Glasgow by the PI, and we envisage this being done by other academic staff elsewhere. It may also be taken forward by the creative and digital industries (publishers, digital library service providers), and the library sector, to inform future approaches to Non-Print Legal Deposit. This is likely to be done nationally, where the study provides key findings to inform policy review in the coming public consultation, and internationally where it will provide relevant transferable knowledge to inform other nations' approaches. Additionally, libraries and archives have shown an interest in adopting the concept of user-centric evaluation in relation to other digital services, so the study is likely to inform methodological approaches to uncovering the impact of digital library resources. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/186755/ |
| Description | Our project white paper contained a recommendation that the UK legal deposit libraries should set up a legal deposit user forum. As a result, the legal deposit libraries have engaged the PI and Co-I to directly advise on the creation of a legal deposit user forum. This process began in 2021, and to date a workshop has been convened to scope the terms of reference and work of the user forum. This forum was attended by approximately 30 expert participants in March 2022, and had the effect of increasing awareness of the user context for legal deposit. As of March 2023, I have been working with the Legal Deposit Libraries User Forum Working Group to take this forward, and we expect the User Forum to be launched later in 2023. The user forum has arisen directly from the work of Digital Library Futures, meaning that the project has had a significant influence on legal deposit governance in the UK and Ireland. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Article for specialist library press |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I wrote an article for CILIP Update (since renamed Information Professional Magazine), the leading publication for the library and information community in the UK, with a readership of approximately 10,000. The article introduced the Digital Library Futures project, and sparked discussions, offers of involvement and requests for further information via email. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Blogposts for Digital Library Futures website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We have written a series of blogposts for the Digital Library Futures website, including guest posts from steering group members. These blogposts have led to requests for further information, and led to questions via email for the project team. The blogposts continued throughout the project duration, and culminated in a blogpost promoting the final project symposium. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| URL | http://elegaldeposit.org/blog |
| Description | Book Launch for "Electronic Legal Deposit: Shaping the Library Collections of the Future" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This online event, to a mixed audience of over 100 stakeholders from communities interested in legal deposit, was held to launch an edited book that arose from the project. Presentations were given by Gooding (PI) and participants from the library stakeholder communities. Attendees reported increased interest in the book, and an improved awareness of the findings and issues raised by the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Internal workshop at case study partner |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We presented our preliminary findings to a small group of senior librarians at a case study partner. This helped us to clarify certain issues, and attendees triggered discussions of possibilities for future collaboration and opportunities to influence their library practices based on our findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | International symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 60 professional librarians, researchers, and policymakers attended an international symposium on Non-Print Legal Deposit. We launched the project White Paper, which sparked expert discussions and a high amount of attention on Social Media. The symposium led to invitations to present our work at academic conferences, and attendees reported that they intended to use the project findings as evidence in their local advocacy for electronic legal deposit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://elegaldeposit.org/dlf-symposium |
| Description | Keynote talk for the UK Web Archive Mini-Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I presented a keynote paper on the Digital Library Futures project to an audience of approximately 100 library practitioners, researchers, and graduate students. The keynote sparked a great deal of discussion and questions from the audience, and participants reported a greater interest in understanding the users of non-print legal deposit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | London Book Fair seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | We chaired a panel on data-driven research at the London Book Fair, drawing on findings from the project in addition to contributions from the academic, library and publishing sectors. This sparked questions and discussion, and attendees reported an increased awareness of the project, and understanding of the issues involved in this area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/en/Sessions/71818/Data-Driven-Research-New-Challenges-New-Users-New... |
| Description | NPLD User Group Planning Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The PI and Co-I were both invited to attend internal discussions between the UK Legal Deposit libraries about setting up a Legal Deposit User Forum. Plans have been made to implement this key recommendation from the project white paper - as a result this engagement activity is ongoing and the PI and Co-I are acting as advisors to the legal deposit libraries on the matter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| Description | Presentation to Cataloguing & Indexing Group Conference 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Melissa Terras presented her work on professors in children's literature to an audience of librarians at a professional conference. She explained how the Subjectify tool, created by the Digital Library Futures team, supported a new form of research and the attendees reported an increased awareness of the project activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1086691&group= |
| Description | Presentation to Joint Committee for Legal Deposit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The PI presented the findings of the project to the Joint Committee for Legal Deposit, which is the national body responsible for implementation and oversight of legal deposit in the United Kingdom. The presentation sparked rigorous discussion, and several attendees reported a shift in atittude toward users of legal deposit. In addition, the presentation led to further invitations to contribute to a forthcoming review of Non-Print Legal Deposit in the United Kingdom. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation to project partner |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | We presented our preliminary findings to a small group of senior librarians at a case study partner. This helped us to clarify certain issues, and attendees triggered discussions of possibilities for future collaboration and opportunities to influence their library practices based on our findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Research Presentation to National Library |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We presented our white paper to a group of roughly 25 attendees at the National Library of Scotland. This increased awareness of the project findings, and sparked discussions of how future collaborations could build on the project outputs in the library's professional practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |