How well do you know legal deposit? The National Library of Korea’s online materials Legal Deposit System, the beginning of change in libraries

Abstract

The Online Materials Legal Deposit System was launched by the National Library of Korea (NLK) in August 2016. According to the revised Library Act, along with paper books and serials, publishers of online materials with ISBN/ISSN are obliged to submit the online materials to the NLK in the form of legal deposit. For government agencies, public institutions, universities and schools, they have to submit digital files created for publishing offline materials even if the files are not shared online as well as online materials. By collecting published and distributed online materials and offline materials as national materials, the library can permanently preserve knowledge culture for future generations. Bibliographic Information Distribution Support System (http://seoji.nl.go.kr), a one stop service that links applying for online material legal deposit and issuing legal deposit certificate as well as ISBN/ISSN/CIP services, allows users to conveniently use and submit online and offline materials through a single system. With a picture of the registration page where publishers can upload legal deposit files and detailed explanation on the legal deposit method and procedure, the poster provides a clear understanding on Korea’s systematic collection system for documentary heritage.