ABSTRACT
The British Library (BL) has always taken a wide view of collection development. Historically, the Library has its roots in the 1753 Act establishing the British Museum. The collections were brought together to create the first state public library in Britain, under the terms of an Act of Parliament which included the safe preservation of the collection “for the public use of all posterity”. Legal deposit of British materials obviously plays a major role in collection development, but it is important to note that in Britain there are five legal deposit libraries the BL, National Library of Scotland, National Library of Wales, Bodley, and Cambridge, and that Trinity College, Dublin acts as a legal deposit library. The BL as a major international research library, as the provider of the National Bibliography and bibliographical records, and as a centre for developing research into library, bibliographical, and information issues has a key role to play in planning national library services.
