A Bill to ensure the protection of Western Australian public documents through the State Library of Western Australia will be introduced to Parliament today.
Culture and the Arts Minister John Day said the purpose of the Legal Deposit Bill 2011 was to ensure the preservation of the State’s published documentary heritage for current and future generations.
“Legal deposit legislation will be welcomed by historians, researchers, librarians and all those who use and value our documentary cultural heritage,” Mr Day said.
“West Australians will benefit from this legislation as it will provide them with comprehensive coverage and access to the published record of the State’s economic, social, creative, scientific and educational activities for centuries to come.”
The Minister said the Legal Deposit Bill 2011 would put WA at the forefront of Australian States in terms of the range of materials to be deposited.
“The Bill is deliberately broad in scope to ensure any document related to the heritage of WA will be collected, regardless of length, format and medium,” he said.
“As the means by which information is disseminated has changed, the capture of digital information to record the State’s history and culture is now critically important.”
Legal deposit will extend to commercial publishers, as well as private individuals and organisations and will include published government information; it will exclude public records as defined by the State Records Act 2000.
- Bill ensures preservation of WA’s published documentary heritage
- Any document related to the heritage of WA will be collected
- Capture of digital information critically important
- Legal deposit is a statutory provision that obliged publishers to provide copies of their publications to libraries in the State in which they are published
Date: 9/11/2011
Minister: Day
Portfolio: Culture and the Arts
Region: All
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