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The role of printers in legal deposit

Printers touch literal history. Take an issue of PrintAction; created by its writers, editors, and designers, it’s a small piece of history. Yet, it is ephemeral. Once read it will, eventually, be recycled. But what happens if someone wants to read it 10, 50, or 100 years from now?

They can. Thanks to the work of Library and Archives Canada (LAC), the federal institution responsible for acquiring, preserving, and providing access to our national collections. They ensure Canada’s cultural and documentary history is not lost. In the last 150 years, LAC has collected over 20 million Canadian books published in various languages, archived national newspapers from across Canada, stored approximately 5 billion megabytes of electronic information and filled more than 250 linear kilometres with textual records. But as technologies change, preserving Canada’s documentary heritage has become much more complicated. Printers, I believe, can be part of the solution.

Why is this important?

One of the ways Canadians understand who we are or will become as a nation is through our documentary heritage. History has shown that printed words and images have the power to change people’s lives, minds, and identities. The Library and Archives of Canada Act (Bill C-8) governs legal deposit—a regulatory requirement that publishers submit copies of their publications to LAC. This ensures the preservation of Canada’s collective history.

Who is responsible?

Canadian publishers and producers are required to submit their physical and digital publications for legal deposit to LAC’s collections. This group includes producers of music, video, and audiobooks, trade and small press publishers, academic and educational publishers, and self-publishers who meet the following requirements:
• make a publication or production available in Canada;
• publish or produce from an official office of business within Canada;
• have at least 75 per cent of their employees based in Canada, and;
• are authorized to reproduce publications or productions and control the content.

Printers exist in a gray area. Printers produce the publications LAC seeks to obtain, but they don’t hold the copyright; and, therefore, cannot make submissions.

What’s collected?

Mary-Francis Turk, supervisor of Legal Deposit, Private Archives and Published Heritage Branch, explains that legal deposit enables LAC to collect materials created in Canada intended for sale or public distribution.

Legal deposit mandates the collection of books (monographs), maps, sheet music, and serials (magazines, journals, newsletters, newspapers) that Canadian publishers release in all formats—both digital and physical. The archive may also accept donations of theses, microfiche, Braille documents, annual reports, and other historically valuable materials.

Julie Anne Richardson, manager, Published Canadiana, Private Archives and Published Heritage Branch, emphasizes LAC focuses on educating publishers about their responsibilities rather than strictly enforcing the Act. Therefore, LAC goes to great lengths to build awareness and retrieve material by:
• connecting with publisher associations to give presentations;
• monitoring the book market to identify new publishers needing education;
• sending requests to Canadian authors self-publishing through online platforms; and
• responding to inquiries from across the country (like being interviewed for this article).

However, the 21^st century has changed the way books and serials are published. Publishers, printers and LAC are having to adapt to new challenges in the production and preservation of Canada’s documentary history.

Challenges

As the landscape of media production changes, the risk of losing significant parts of our national history increases. First, in the last decade, access to graphic design software and the growth of on-demand printing has removed many of the middlemen, such as publishers and design firms, who would have previously handled legal deposit. Printers have seen this firsthand. Clients are now often individuals or organizations designing their own documents and media.

Second, the digitization of traditional print formats, such as the incremental growth of ebooks, the decline of daily newspapers, and the shift of local news to online-only formats, means many publishers may not realize they must submit digital copies to legal deposit.

Finally, employee turnover. When people change jobs or retire, the tacit knowledge of submitting to legal deposit might be forgotten, creating gaps in the collection.

With these changes, the question arises: do organizations and individuals even know they need to submit? Michelle Foggett-Parker, acquisitions librarian, reassures that LAC monitors submissions and reaches out when they stop. But considering the volume of Canada’s published material, this is a monumental task.

Role of printers

Although printers are not responsible for legal deposit, they are intimately familiar with both their clients and their media. This creates an opportunity for dialogue. Here’s how printers can help:
• learn about and share information on legal deposit;
• check the Library and Archives Canada’s online catalogue Aurora to confirm clients are submitting to legal deposit;
• ensure LAC’s address is in mailing lists and email listservs so physical and digital magazines are submitted in a timely manner;
• inform new publishers and self-publishing clients about their legal deposit obligations; and
• encourage clients producing culturally significant documents to check LAC’s interest in acquiring them for the collection by emailing them at depotlegal-legaldeposit@bac-lac.gc.ca.

Even if LAC is not interested other institutions like Provincial Archives or university libraries might wish to acquire them.

Publishers submitting physical publications must complete and send a form, available online, together with copies of the physical publication to legal deposit by mail. Publishers submitting digital publications will either need to create an online account or email Depotlegalnumerique-DigitalLegalDeposit@bac-lac.gc.ca a digital file.

By ensuring clients are informed about legal deposit, printers can help protect the stories that define Canada.

Conclusion

The work of Library and Archives Canada is a bit of a paradox. No one can know for certain what should be preserved, but it’s also impossible to collect and store everything. Mary-Francis Turk notes, “[Librarians] try to collect publications that will help us know the story of Canada over time.”

While documents, like books and magazines, have clear submission guidelines, other ephemera may hold cultural significance and need to be submitted. As media production evolves and clientele changes, printers have an educational role to play. As custodians of Canadiana, printers can inform and remind clients about legal deposit to help ensure that our stories endure for future generations.

This article originally appeared in the Nov./Dec. 2024  issue of PrintAction.