What is legal deposit?
Thanks to the laws on legal deposit copies, the National Library can collect almost everything that is published in Sweden. This enhances research and the right to knowledge for all citizens.
The first legal deposit legislation appeared way back in 1661 and only applied to printed material. It was gradually extended to also include radio and TV broadcasts, music, film and multimedia. We have also been collecting electronic material since 2012.
We save all legal deposit deliveries, without evaluating or sorting. A local advertising flyer, a popular computer game, the works of a Nobel Prize winner. All are equally valid to us.
Two Swedish acts about legal deposit
- The Swedish Act (1993:1392) on legal deposit copies of documents External link. applies to printed matter and to radio and TV broadcasts, music, film and multimedia that are intended for distribution to the general public.
- The Swedish Act (2012:492) on legal deposit copies of electronic material External link. applies to, for example, music recordings, film, web-specific magazine and daily newspaper articles, and e-books and government agency publications.