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Library Board of Western Australia Act 1951

The Library Board of Western Australia is a statutory body established under the Library Board of Western Australia Act 1951. The original purpose of the Library Board was to facilitate the establishment of a free public library network in Western Australia.

The Act was amended in 1955 to include the management of the State Library of Western Australia in the Board’s responsibilities.

Official responsibility for the State’s public records was added to the Act in 1974, but this was repealed in 2001 with the passing of the State Records Act 2000, and the establishment of a separate State Records Commission.

Regulations under the Library Board of Western Australia Act

There are currently three sets of Regulations under the Library Board Act:

• Regulations for the Conduct of the State Library
• Library Board (Conduct of Proceedings) Regulations 1955
• Library Board (Registered Public Libraries) Regulations 1985

Legal Deposit Act 2012

The Legal Deposit Act 2012 was passed in May 2012. The Act requires publishers to deposit copies of their publications with the State Librarian, to facilitate the long-term preservation of Western Australia’s published documentary heritage.  The Act covers the deposit of not only books and other print materials, but also audiovisual and digital publications, including publications made available on the internet.

While the Act has been passed, most of the Act’s provisions to do not come into force until relevant regulations, which prescribe how the provisions will operate, are developed and approved.  

Regulations under the Legal Deposit Act

The development of regulations under the Legal Deposit Act 2012 is being undertaken in two phases:

1. Regulations for the deposit of physical items such as books, journals, microform, maps, CDs, DVDs and digital works published on a physical carrier (Part 2 of the Act)
2. Regulations for online digital publications (Part 3 of the Act)

Consultation to develop regulations for Part 2 of the Act has been undertaken and a report on the consultation [PDF] has been prepared, summarising the feedback received.

More information on the Legal Deposit Act can be found here.