Australian libraries join forces to build national digital collection

Australia’s national, state and territory libraries have come together in a world-first collaboration to build a national digital collection, with the new National edeposit service (NED) launching this week.

For more than 100 years, publishers have been legally required to deposit published works in Australian libraries. With the creation of NED, Australian libraries now have the digital infrastructure to preserve Australia’s documentary heritage for future generations, in the same way they always have for print.

Chair of National and State Libraries Australia and CEO of State Library Victoria Kate Torney said, ‘NED builds on a long history of collaboration between the national, state and territory libraries of Australia which benefits all library users. This world-first national edeposit system highlights Australia’s library sector as a global leader, and sets a wonderful precedent for future projects.’

Australian publications in electronic form will be captured and made available through NED. Book-lovers, researchers and curious minds can find Australian literary works alongside everything from the government’s Australian Antarctic Strategy to newsletters, fanzines and community publications like Radio-gram: news from the Perth Vintage Wireless and Gramophone Club.

NED provides more equitable access to Australian publications while protecting the commercial interests of authors and publishers.

Journalist and author Peter Greste said, ‘In this age of information disorder, libraries have never been more crucial. Collecting, organising and making Australian publications available to people is not just fundamental to our freedoms, it is fundamental to our ability to make sense of the world’.

Publishers and authors can now upload electronic books, journals, magazines and newsletters through the NED website. Depending on the publication’s level of access, the general public can access the collection online through Trove or onsite in their national, state and territory libraries.