Printed material
Works published on paper must be submitted through legal deposit, and this applies to all books, sheet music, reports, brochures, all magazines and newspapers, newsletters, maps and many other things. The works may be printed, photocopied or reproduced in other ways.
How many copies should be deposited?
Four copies of works published on paper must be submitted. The National Library of Iceland preserves three copies and the Municipal Library of Akureyri preserves one.
Works published in 50 copies or fewer must be deposited in two copies .
New editions are required to be deposited, as are reprints (when the work specifies that it is a reprint or when a new print shows some production changes, such as a new cover, binding or type of paper.)
When a work is published in both hardcover and paperback , four copies of each type must be submitted.
Additional materials, such as CDs, floppy disks, cassettes, cards and videos, are subject to legal deposit and the material must be delivered in one piece.
Who should deliver the material?
The legal deposit lies with the producer , i.e. the person or company that produces the finished work, e.g. the printing house, reproduction company or bookbinder, when works are produced in Iceland. If it is not clear who the producer is or if the legal deposit is not made by the producer, the receiving library may request that the publisher or the person responsible for distributing the works fulfill the obligation of legal deposit.
In the case of works produced abroad, the obligation to legal deposit lies with the publisher .
Attention is drawn to the fact that material produced in public institutions, such as schools, hospitals, social welfare institutions and research institutes, is also subject to legal deposit.
Delivery method
Materials can be returned by sending them by mail or handing them in at the museum's reception desk, marked "Legal deposit".
The material must be accompanied by a return form, which is a simple form that contains information about the publisher, titles, and number of copies being returned. A return form can be found here to fill out and print.
You can also obtain a mandatory return form from the museum's front desk and fill it out on site.