global

The preceding pages have centred on efforts by national libraries and other institutions to use statutory deposit requirements in constructing definitive national collections of print publications that originated in the particular nation. What of works produced by international organisations, including agencies of the United Nations such as WIPO and bodies such as ICANN that have a global reach?

We are occasionally asked what happens to works under the auspices of those entities. Are they formally excluded from legal deposit obligations? Do they 'slip through the cracks' because they are no-one's responsibility or because collection and maintenance are a low priority?

National statutory deposit legislation typically does not expressly exclude print and other publications from international organisations.

In principle those works are susceptible to 'capture' on the basis that they are published in a particular jurisdiction (eg France, the USA, Switzerland). It should be irrelevant whether the press is privately owned or is funded by a global intergovernmental body.

In practice it appears that national librarians and executives of other depository institutions have not faced sustained opposition by international agencies regarding transfer of their publications to the host country's collection.

The stultifying nature of much publishing by international organisations - unfettered by concerns regarding cost or readership - and notions of outreach or a search for legitimacy mean that many organisations appear keen to place their publications within several national collections, rather than merely that covering the jurisdiction of origin. One librarian accordingly complained that the challenge facing many collection managers is to politely exclude a blizzard of "litter" sent by well-meaning (or merely self-involved) global bureaucrats.

That may change as some bodies, such as the OECD and WIPO, increasingly emphasise sale of their 'in demand' publications, often priced out of the reach of non-institutional consumers.

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