British

The Library's collection of British printed materials, reflecting its special status as a British and Irish legal deposit library, is by far the largest in Scotland. It ranks among the four or five largest in the British Isles and probably throughout the world. Its greatest virtue lies in the richness and diversity of its holdings of printed materials of all kinds from the past three centuries, since the conferment of the privilege of legal deposit.

Extensive collections
The right to receive free of charge a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom and Ireland is based on the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, and before that the Copyright Act 1911. This right has enabled the Library to build extensive general collections on all subjects, though it has a special responsibility for the acquisition and preservation of material of Scottish interest.

The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 provides the basis for extending this right to include non-print publications, and the Library is looking forward to developing its collections in this area.

A full description of the Library's collecting policies can be found in the Legal Deposit Policy document 1999 (currently under revision). The policy is online as a PDF file in our Policy Documents section.

Publications received by deposit can be read in the Library's Reading Rooms, and information about titles can be found in the Library's catalogues.