Abstract
In the field of legal deposit there has recently been a shift from the traditional ‘legalistic’ approach to a ‘functional’ approach. Financial reasons alone have made universality no longer a viable aim. Preservation activities can take place only on a basis of selectiveness, and the recording of every item in every format is unrealistic. An enquiry in 1992 in national libraries in the European Community lends weight to the functional approach by suggesting that good practice is at least as dependent on sound management principles as on legislation. It also shows that legal deposit in the EC works best where the library world has created a harmony of interests with publishers and producers of material, in particular by providing timely and efficient bibliographic services. No national library in the EC has a responsbility for collecting all kinds of publication. A central collection of all published material is now only one of several possible options being considered for the effective achivement of legal deposit objectives; division among libraries by subject, format, or geographical region offers a range of alternatives.
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