Australia is a big country. So big that our rail tracks were built to different measurements in different states. Similarly, our state and territory libraries have operated with separate legislation to collect materials published in their jurisdictions, with the National Library in Canberra responsible for collecting copies of all Australian publications.
That made some sense when publications were in print form. In 2016, however, Australia’s legal deposit provisions were finally extended to cover electronic materials.
Nine state and territory libraries agreed to a world-first collaboration to build one system that could provide for deposit, management, storage, preservation, discovery and delivery of published electronic material nationwide. A system that could cater to commercial, non-profit, academic, and community-based publishers alike – allowing them to deposit once or in bulk, nominate access conditions, have copies automatically transferred to relevant libraries, and track usage statistics. A system capable of capturing and preserving the digital documentary heritage of Australia for the future, while providing an excellent user experience today for publishers (easy deposit mechanism), libraries (more efficient workflows), and the public (broader access to Australian publications).
This presentation shares our approach to the significant challenges of satisfying nine sets of technical requirements and legislation, balancing open access principles and copyright law with content security and protection of commercial viability, in order to launch NED as an open repository for Australia in May 2019.
