The National Library of Australia makes electronic publications available in accordance with the Copyright Act.

Access

When depositing your electronic publication with the National Library, you will be required to identify the commercial status of your publication and asked:

Do you agree to allow your publication to be made freely available through the Library’s online services?

  • No, only basic access as permitted under the Copyright Act

    Library users will only view commercial electronic publications in the National Library reading rooms in Canberra. Users will not be allowed to download or copy these publications.

    Non-commercial electronic publications with basic access as permitted under the Copyright Act will be available as read-only in Trove, the national discovery service. Users will not be allowed to download these publications.

    Basic library access is subject to change over time with any future amendments to the act.
  • Yes, I allow my publication to be made freely available through the Library's online services immediately

    Anyone will be able to download and save deposited electronic publications to their computer or mobile device via a link in the National Library’s online catalogue and Trove.
  • Yes, I allow my publication to be made freely available through the Library's online services after an embargo period of twelve months for books, music scores and maps or six months for journals, magazines and newsletters

    After the embargo period, anyone can download deposited electronic publications to their computer or mobile device via a link in the National Library’s online catalogue and Trove, the national discovery service. Prior to this time, basic access as permitted under the Copyright Act will apply.

Digital rights management

All works must be free from Digital Rights Management (DRM). This refers to any technical means that restrict access to the publication. Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) are often used to do this, such as encryption of files, proprietary locks or watermarks. To preserve digital collections over the long term, we require that files are deposited without any of these measures in place.

You can often view any DRM restrictions in your file's properties under the 'security' tab. You may need to request a DRM-free file from your publishing platform.

Security

The National Library of Australia stores its digital collections securely and preserves them forever. Our IT security standards are based on those specified in the Attorney-General’s Protective Security Policy Framework, the Australian Government Information Security Manual, the ISO 27000 Standards and recommendations of the Australian National Audit Office.