The Periodicals Department deals with print newspapers, directories, travel guides, as well as periodicals (journals and magazines, etc.) as commonly understood. The main exception to this is that it does not handle periodicals in Far Eastern scripts.
Under the provisions of UK copyright legislation (currently The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003) Cambridge University Library is entitled to claim copies of all periodicals currently published in the British Isles. Since April 2013 publishers are able to deposit electronically rather than in print, and as a consequence most large British academic publishers are now depositing their journals in this way. We seek to collect in print or have electronic access to all such periodicals of possible academic interest and a broad selection of the remainder. Electronic deposit is run on the behalf of all the Legal Deposit libraries by the British Library. Most of the print intake is collected by the Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries in Edinburgh and then forwarded to us. It follows that current print issues may not reach the Library until some time after publication. Foreign print periodicals are acquired selectively by purchase or donation. Recommendations for the acquisition of periodicals not already held may be made by clicking here.