The British Library

I’ve been receiving letter from the British Library asking for copies of our magazine, Pint Taken (you can check it out at www.pinttaken.org.uk but we’ve got a lot of work to do in terms of updating it). At first we were quite flattered that they would want a copy, and I was about to write back and say that’s no problem so long as they supply us with stamped addressed envelopes. Then after further reading I discovered that this is law and that it’s required to be archived as part of the legal deposits act. Other people have shown me letters from similar institutions also demanding copies of our publication for their archives. It means that we become part of our nation’s heritage, and that researchers can borrow our material free of charge. Luckily, we don’t charge for our magazine but it does seem a bit of a tax when it comes to posting copies to them. It seems that the British Library has never changed their ways…