Library & Archives Canada: Canadian Publishers/Authors are Legally Obligated to Deposit Copies of their Books

(When you submit or register your book with Library & Archives Canada it is called a Legal Deposit).

The history of the Legal Deposit dates back over 450 years ago and is an effective means of collecting and preserving the country’s published heritage. The concept was established in 1537 with the Ordonnance de Montpellier, enacted by King Francis I to ensure the collection and preservation of documents published in France.

Legal deposit in Canada has been in effect since the National Library of Canada was created in 1953. Initially applied primarily to books, legal deposit was later expanded to include serial publications (1965), sound recordings (1969), multimedia kits (1978), microforms (1988), video recordings (1993), CD-ROMs (1995), and cartographic materials as well as online or digital publications (2007).

Through legal deposit, all materials produced by Canadian publishers become part of Library & Archive Canada's (LAC) collection and are available for public consultation and use.

Once a publication is received, a description acknowledging the contribution of the publisher is entered into LAC’s online catalogue, which can be accessed by all Canadians in the comfort of their home.

Now, as boring as this history lesson replete with dates may be, the important part is this: Since January 1, 2007, in Canada, the Legal Deposit of Publications Regulations requires publishers to deposit copies of most publications with Library & Archives Canada. This law, enacted under the Library & Archives of Canada Act, ensures the preservation of Canada's published heritage.

Any and All publishers who make publications available in Canada

are legally obligated to deposit copies with Library and Archives Canada.

Many either don't know this or couldn't be bothered to practice it. The vast majority of Vanity Publishers or Presses, or printers masking as publishers, etc., do not practice this, as it is an expense that they must be burdened with and shouldered. (Submitting your book requires that you send or mail in one or two copies of your book - depending on your initial print run - at your expense).

The emphasis must be on, “Publishers are legally obligated.”

If you've had your book published, other than self-published, all you need to do is go to the Library & Archives Canada website and search for your book's title or your name. Simple. If it doesn't show up, it hasn't been submitted, and your publisher is breaking the law. (Or at the very least, doing you a disservice. However, having said that, it should also be noted that once a Legal Deposit has been submitted, it can take Library & Archives Canada a significant amount of time to process and log it into their system. I've had one title that took nearly 3 years from mailing to appear in their system).

Whether you are a Canadian Publisher or you are self-published, or you are a non-Canadian Publisher with your publications available in Canada, if it has its own ISBN it needs to be registered.

On a tangent note regarding self-published authors:

You might wonder, if you're self-published, or you've used Createspace, KDP publishing, Amazon, Smashwords, Draft-2-Digital, or whatever, does this still apply to you?

The short answer is, yes, most definitely.

The Legal Deposit of Publications Regulations defines a “publisher” as the following: “a person who makes a publication available in Canada, that the person is authorized to reproduce or over which the person controls the content. It does not include a person who only distributes a publication.”

And continues to provide examples, including, trade and small press publishers, academic and educational publishers, periodical publishers, producers of music, video and spoken-word recordings, publishers of multimedia, cartographic and microform materials, federal government departments and agencies, associations, organizations, and self-publishers.

So, by this definition, bookstores, distributors, and/or printers DO NOT qualify as “publishers.” However, as a self-published author, you DO qualify as a “publisher.” (And this would include, as a self-published author, if you've used a U.S. Company (ie Amazon), but you used a Canadian ISBN, your work is deemed published in Canada and you must register all your books with Library & Archives Canada).

If you are a Broken Keys Publishing & Press's author, we do take care of your Legal Deposits and we do abide by the law of Canada and submit, register, and provide samples to Library & Archives Canada. After all, why wouldn't you? Once your book is submitted into Library & Archives Canada you've become immortalized!

Now, having said all this, the purpose of this article wasn't to instill fear, but to simply educate. If your publisher is cutting corners (specifically NOT submitting a legal deposit of your book) what other corners are they cutting?

Truth be known, I can't imagine Library & Archives Canada has any sort of policing department and I can't imagine how they could possibly track or enforce any of these laws and policies. (Now there's a great idea for a book! A Canadian Ministry of Archives Agent! You know what? Forget I said that. Think I'll keep that idea for myself!)

This is more of a litmus test to see whether your publisher is legit or not.

Food for thought.

---

Keep up to date with breaking news, new releases,

book signings, and events, and keep your thumb on

the pulse of Ottawa's literary scene.

Subscribe and follow us on social media -

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, & YouTube