Legal deposit

Note

The legislation on legal deposit provides for the creation of two archives of Italian publications: a national archive, to which two copies of every document of cultural interest published in Italy are sent (and physically housed at the National Libraries – Biblioteche Nazionali Centrali – in Rome and Florence), and a regional archive, which collects copies of every document of cultural interest published within the region.
Publishers upon whom the legislation imposes the obligation of legal deposit must therefore send copies of each publication as follows:

• 1 copy to the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence;
• 1 copy to the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Rome;
• 1 copy to the regional archive of the relevant region.

Please note that, pursuant to Regional Council Resolution no. 1437 of 22 May 2007 and the agreements entered into between the Veneto Region and the designated depository institutions, publishers based in the Province of Venice must send the copy intended for the Regional Publishing Archive to:

• Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Piazza San Marco 7, 30124 Venice.

Please also note that materials forming part of the Regional Archive are the property of the Veneto Region, which, in the event of non-compliance with the legal deposit obligation, may impose the penalties provided for under Article 7 of Law 106/2004.

What follows is a brief extract outlining the main aspects of the legal deposit legislation concerning the establishment of the Regional Publishing Archive, together with a short guide for publishers in the Province of Venice on how to submit their documents.

Excerpt from the Legislation

Brief excerpt from the new legal deposit legislation concerning the Regional Publishing Archive:

• Documents subject to legal deposit (Art. 1 – Law 106/2004):

Documents or published materials of cultural interest intended for public use, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed.

• Documents not subject to legal deposit (Art. 8 – Presidential Decree 252/2006):

Excerpts, drafts, registers and forms, cadastral maps, routine advertising and commercial ephemera, unaltered reprints, and documents for internal or private use.

• Obligated parties (Art. 3 – Law 106/2004):

The publisher, or otherwise the person responsible for the publication, whether a natural or legal person; in the absence of a publisher, the printer.

• Partial exemption (Art. 9 – Presidential Decree 252/2006):

If the works subject to the legislation have a print run of up to 200 copies or are valued at €15,000.00 or more per copy, excluding printed music, the publisher, or otherwise the person responsible for the publication, is required to deposit only one copy with the Regional Publishing Archive. If, however, the works have a print run of up to 500 copies and are valued at €10,000.00 or more per copy, the publisher may apply for partial exemption to the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities or to the competent Region.

Guide to Submitting Documents

Brief guide to submitting documents to the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana:

• Documents must be delivered directly to the Library or sent by other means within 60 days of publication (see Art. 7 – Presidential Decree 252/2006).
  For periodicals and posters, submissions may be made cumulatively, subject to prior agreement with the person in charge of the Periodicals Office, Federica Benedetti.
• The following wording must appear on all submitted documents: “Non-commercial copy for legal deposit pursuant to Law No. 106 of 15 April 2004” (see Art. 10 – Presidential Decree 252/2006).
• Documents must be enclosed in packages bearing the wording: “Non-commercial copies for legal deposit pursuant to Law No. 106 of 15 April 2004”, together with the name or business name of the party required to make the deposit and their domicile or registered office (see Art. 10 – Presidential Decree 252/2006).
• Two copies of the list of materials sent must be enclosed inside each package. The list must contain, for each document, the information necessary for its identification.
• After verifying the contents of the package, and if no irregularities are found, the Library will return one duly stamped copy of the submitted list. This copy constitutes a receipt and must be retained by the submitting party.
• Where the postal service is used, the legal deposit obligation is deemed fulfilled upon delivery of the package containing the deposited materials to the relevant postal offices (see Art. 7, para. 6 – Presidential Decree 252/2006).

For further clarification or information, please contact the person in charge of the Digital Library and Special Materials Department, Camilla Fusetti, at b-marc.depositolegale@cultura.gov.it

Legal Deposit Forms

Monographs

• List of documents (file .xls, 19 KB)
• Accompanying letter (file .rtf, 19 KB)

Periodicals

• List of documents (file .xls, 19 KB)
• Accompanying letter (file .rtf, 19 KB)