Electronic Legal Deposit: how to access
How to access electronic legal deposit content and the latest updates.
Electronic legal deposit is the electronic equivalent of the traditional print legal deposit system, which ensures all works published in the UK and Ireland are collected and preserved by the legal deposit libraries.
The legal deposit libraries are: Cambridge University Libraries, the British Library, Library of Trinity College Dublin, the Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford), National Library of Scotland, and the National Library of Wales.
This system helps build a comprehensive archive of all UK and Ireland publications, for research now and in the future.
The British Library is the central source of electronic legal deposit content, with access terminals in the other legal deposit libraries. In October 2023, there was a cyber attack on the British Library, and this service was one of many taken offline.
The British Library has worked hard to check and restore huge amounts of data, including building brand new systems to provide access. Access was restored on the 4th March 2025 using an interim solution, while a longer term solution is worked on. The interim solution is also receiving regular updates to improve it.
What is available to access?
Electronic legal deposit content collected up until October 2023 is available. Work to make the newer eLD content available continues.
If you need eLD content from after October 2023, and it's not accessible via other library resources, please let us know. You can request it by emailing recommendations@lib.cam.ac.uk or fill out the recommendation form.
Map content continues to be available in the Map Room at the University Library. Map content is on a different system and was unaffected.
The UK Web Archive is not yet available to access, but the content is safe and collection continues. A platform for access is being worked on.
The majority of the content available in electronic legal deposit at the moment is journal articles (PDFs) and e-books (ePUBs).
Access to thousands of e-books and e-journals, outside of electronic legal deposit, including recently published material, remains available as before.
The latest upgrades to the interim access solution
Improvements to functionality for ePUBs (e-books):
- Search within the text for keywords
- Zoom in and out
- Font size can be adjusted
- Bookmark pages to come back to (please note, these disappear when you close the file)
- Annotate the text (please note, these disappear when you close the file)
- Flow can be adjusted to vertical scroll instead of left to right views, if preferred
Improvements to functionality for PDFs (journal articles):
- Highlight the text, different colours available (please note these disappear when you close the file)
- Annotate the text (please note these also disappear when you close the file)
There will continue to be improvements with the next upgrade from the British Library planned for the summer.
Accessibility
Our accessibility team can provide copies of content that can be used by screenreaders and on your own devices, for eligible people registered with the accessibility service. Simply contact disability@lib.cam.ac.uk
The system upgrades for the summer are focused on accessibility improvements, which we know are needed. We also welcome your feedback and can request features you would like.
Who can access electronic legal deposit content?
The content is available to everyone.
Students and staff of the University of Cambridge are automatically members of Cambridge University Libraries.
Everyone else can register to access the University Library and library services.
For British Library members, we are currently offering free membership at the University Library until 28 February 2026. The British Library isn't able to offer access to the electronic legal deposit in their own reading rooms at the moment.
How do I access electronic legal deposit content?
Search iDiscover, the library catalogue for all resources. On the item record it will tell you if the item selected is electronic legal deposit content. You can search iDiscover remotely or at the library.
Access to the electronic legal deposit is via computer terminals on site at the library. We legally can't provide remote access to the electronic legal deposit.
Cambridge University students and staff can access terminals at the University Library and faculty and department libraries. This is a list of Cambridge University libraries that have electronic legal deposit terminals.
All library members can access the terminals at the main University Library.
You can also request printed copies, within the legal requirements for this, without visiting the library.
Our accessibility team can provide accessible versions of content for people registered with the accessibility service. Simply contact disability@lib.cam.ac.uk
Can I keep a copy of electronic legal deposit content?
You can request a print out, which can either be collected or posted to you.
You can request a print out at the library, but you don't need to visit the library to request a print out.
There are legal restrictions we have to follow for printing:
- One chapter or 5%, whichever is greater, of a book
- One article from each issue of a journal
- For non-commercial research or private study
- Printing service is available to all library members
- Each printing request is £2. (It is a legal requirement to charge for printing of electronic legal deposit content. We are unable to change or waive this.)
Find out more and fill out a print request form.
We are unable to email copies of electronic legal deposit content and you can't save digital copies when you access the legal deposit terminals at the libraries. These restrictions are only for electronic legal deposit content.
New updated guide
Read the full updated LibGuide to electronic legal deposit for more information.
Feedback
We really value your feedback. Our teams are working closely with the British Library and we can request features and improvements that are important to you. We also welcome any questions that you have.
Contact the team on eld@lib.cam.ac.uk
Other digital resources available from Cambridge University Libraries
iDiscover
A single search point for all our collections and resources, print and online.
e-books
Access to over 1.75 million ebooks (and counting).
e-journals
Find research articles by journal title or browse by subject.
Databases
Search over 1,500 databases, spanning subjects A-Z.
Newspapers
Access to British and international newspapers, including current and archive issues.
Cambridge Digital Library
Special collections digitised for everyone to view online (no library login needed).
Apollo
Research outputs from the University, including theses and research data.
ArchiveSearch
Search for archives and primary sources held in the city of Cambridge.
These services are available with your username and password where needed.
Cambridge Digital Library is accessible to everyone, everywhere, without a login.
Background information on Electronic Legal Deposit
Books, magazines, scholarly journals, newspapers, maps, websites and more, that originate in the UK and Ireland, are preserved in their millions under print and electronic legal deposit.
Legal deposit libraries have the right to request a copy of every publication in the UK and Ireland. Cambridge University Library has been collecting in print since 1710.
More recently, in 2013, the six legal deposit libraries of the UK and Ireland gained the right to receive a copy of every UK electronic publication, on the same basis as they have received print publications for several centuries.
Electronic legal deposit also includes government and official publications from the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, publications from charities and campaigning organisations, sheet music, academic journals, local histories, and outputs from private presses through to the largest publishers in the UK.
Even annual snapshots of Ordnance Survey large-scale mapping of Britain, and regular snapshots of UK websites are collected – often the only surviving copy of millions of pages of web content, as information rapidly changes online.
The collaborative collecting happens on an incredible scale.
The legal deposit libraries are: Cambridge University Libraries, the British Library, the National Library of Wales, the National Library of Scotland, the Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford), and the Library of Trinity College Dublin.
What happened to it?
Access to the Electronic Legal Deposit is provided by the British Library through computer terminals in legal deposit libraries. The British Library was the target of a cyber attack in October 2023. The information had to be rigourously tested for security, and new systems built to access it. This work is ongoing but an interim solution has restored access to electronic legal deposit e-books and e-journals collected prior to the attack in October 2023.
Library membership
All University of Cambridge students and staff are members of Cambridge University Libraries: simply use your usual Cambridge login and your blue Cambridge ID card to visit the libraries.
Everyone is welcome to join the University Library: find out more and register.
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