Getting started
Who can use NED?
The laws supporting legal deposit of electronic materials vary across the Commonwealth, states and territories but, generally, if you publish an electronic publication you can deposit a copy in the NED service to meet legal deposit requirements for the National Library and the state/territory library. There may be other deposit obligations according to each jurisdiction’s legislation. Publishers are encouraged to deposit electronic materials within 1-2 months of publication to help build the national collection.
Who is a ‘publisher’?
Legal deposit covers Australian publishers of all types, including commercial publishers, government publishers, schools, societies, organisations, clubs, churches, associations and private individuals.
Australian authors that are also self-publishers, including those using overseas based online publishing platforms, are subject to legal deposit. Self-publishers should check their publishing contracts carefully to understand how files can be uploaded to NED and what access conditions are selected.
Australian authors who are not self-publishers, are encouraged to contact their publisher to complete the legal deposit process.
What is an ‘electronic publication’?
An electronic publication is any book, journal, report, newsletter, map, music score, magazine, newsletter, newspaper, website or other item made generally available to the public in a digital format. They are often called “born-digital” publications as they were created in a digital format. An electronic publication may be available either for sale or for free.
What isn’t suitable for NED?
Scanned or digitised copies of print publications, are currently out of scope for NED deposit, but may be accepted by your state or territory legal deposit library. Please contact your legal deposit library regarding deposit of these materials.
For electronic publications by Australian authors, and about Australia, published outside Australia, please contact the National Library of Australia and your state/territory legal deposit library, prior to making any deposits. Generally, overseas publications are out of scope for NED, however there are some exceptions.
If publishers deposit materials outside of the content policy, they will be notified by their legal deposit library that the content will not be accepted.
Which libraries are legal deposit libraries in Australia?
The following national, state and territory libraries are legal deposit libraries and members of NED.
- National Library of Australia
- State Library of Queensland
- State Library Victoria
- State Library of New South Wales
- State Library of South Australia
- State Library of Western Australia
- Libraries Tasmania
- Libraries ACT
- Northern Territory Library
The following libraries are also legal deposit libraries. These libraries are not members of NED.
- Parliamentary Library of New South Wales
- University of Sydney Library
- Parliamentary Library of Queensland
- Parliamentary Library of South Australia
Do I need to create an account?
If you wish to make a one-off deposit to NED, you do not need to create an account. If you are likely to be depositing more than one publication or a collection of serials, or depositing regularly, you should create an account in NED to set up your default publisher details and access agreement. Your publisher history is then kept in a single location under a single publisher name. You can override or set new defaults as needed.
We have several members of staff who deposit our publications; what is the best way to manage this?
New user accounts can be added to your publisher record on request. If you log in you can view your legal deposit library’s contact information, and their staff will set up a NED account for each of your staff. This way you can always view and run reports on the entire deposit history, and identify which of your staff members made which deposits.
Can I deposit a large number of publications at once?
NED has bulk deposit processes. These are available for publishers who have multiple titles to deposit, or a very large quantity to deposit, such as a backlist of electronic publications. It is recommended that bulk deposit processes only be used where there is a minimum of 12 titles. Contact your member library to find out more.
If I have deposited an electronic publication in NED, do I still need to deposit a print copy somewhere?
This depends on the state or territory in which you are based as a publisher. Once you have deposited an electronic publication to NED, your obligations for national legal deposit have been fulfilled. If your state or territory legislation still requires a print copy, however, you will need to deposit this with your state or territory library. In some states there is also a requirement to deposit relevant materials with other deposit libraries. Find out more about specific state and territory requirements and your legal deposit obligations on this website.
What web browser can I use to deposit my online publication?
You can use the latest two versions of Chrome, Firefox, or Edge to deposit your electronic publication. Safari is currently not compatible with the NED service.
Do I have to agree to any terms and conditions?
Publishers are asked to agree to NED’s Terms and Conditions when they first create an account, or for each deposit if they are unregistered. The NED service will also prompt you to accept any new terms and conditions as they are updated.
Will NED affect the commercial viability of my publication?
NED and its member libraries understand the importance of protecting publishers’ commercial interests and the intellectual property of creators. Public access to deposited content will be provided consistent with the Copyright Act 1968 and legal deposit laws and in accordance with the access conditions nominated by depositors though the deposit process. Access conditions nominated by depositors cannot reduce or restrict rights under legislation.
It is not anticipated that NED will affect library acquisition programs for print or electronic commercial publications. Publications will continue to be purchased to provide offsite access through lending and eresource subscription services. The Trove catalogue record for your publication will include links to online retailers and booksellers if your publication is available for sale.