Podgorica, 23rd March – The obligatory copy principle constitutes a basis for carrying out the functions of the Central National Library “Djudje Crnojevic” as envisaged by the Law.
It should be noted that the ‘obligatory copy principle’ as a basis for enriching the national library holdings has not been fully implemented yet to ensure proper protection of overall publishing and printing production, says Jelena Đurović, director of CNL “Đurđe Crnojević”. It is customary, and stipulated by current legislative provisions, that ‘obligatory copy’ implies any item printed or copied in any manner.Considering that depositing an obligatory copy plays a key role in the protection of cultural heritage, this segment of library activity has to be regulated by a special piece of legislation, says Jelena Đurović.Treated primarily as printing, and only occasionally as publishing, obligatory copy may not fully ensure its function of creating and protecting the national holdings, highlights Đurović. According to her, the completion of national holdings with publications submitted pursuant to law used to be understood as automatism which functioned well until 1990, since printing houses at the time were state owned companies. The Law on Obligatory Submission of Printed Items was in effect until the adoption of the Publishing Law which abolished the former.The difficulties experienced in collecting undelivered library materials are great, in particular when it comes to periodic publication that do not remain current for too long and become extremely difficult to be obtained at a later stage. It should be noted that much more pronounced than the lack of knowledge of the legislative provision is the lack of understanding of the problem as such and its significance by those whose primary activity relates to printing and publication. Therefore, states Đurović, these issues require a different social and cultural approach. The library material has to be protected not only by legislation, but also by our deep conviction of the need to preserve written cultural heritage, complying with international standards in all areas starting from inventories, professional processing to preservation conditions. Since the deposition of an obligatory copy is critical in the protection of movable cultural heritage, this segment of library activity must be regulated by a separate law. Regretfully, pursuant to the current law, the holdings of the national library stay diminished for valuable editions of Montenegrin publishers and printing houses and thus the same holds true for holdings of large national libraries in the country and abroad the CNL “Đurđe Crnojević” has publication exchange arrangements with. There is no need to further explain the importance of obligatory copy pronciple for the development of national bibliography, says Đurović, since bibliographies are made on the de visu principle, meaning that bibliographic information is entered from the publication itself.
Podgorica, 23rd March – The obligatory copy principle constitutes a basis for carrying out the functions of the Central National Library “Djudje Crnojevic” as envisaged by the Law.
It should be noted that the ‘obligatory copy principle’ as a basis for enriching the national library holdings has not been fully implemented yet to ensure proper protection of overall publishing and printing production, says Jelena Đurović, director of CNL “Đurđe Crnojević”. It is customary, and stipulated by current legislative provisions, that ‘obligatory copy’ implies any item printed or copied in any manner.Considering that depositing an obligatory copy plays a key role in the protection of cultural heritage, this segment of library activity has to be regulated by a special piece of legislation, says Jelena Đurović.Treated primarily as printing, and only occasionally as publishing, obligatory copy may not fully ensure its function of creating and protecting the national holdings, highlights Đurović. According to her, the completion of national holdings with publications submitted pursuant to law used to be understood as automatism which functioned well until 1990, since printing houses at the time were state owned companies. The Law on Obligatory Submission of Printed Items was in effect until the adoption of the Publishing Law which abolished the former.The difficulties experienced in collecting undelivered library materials are great, in particular when it comes to periodic publication that do not remain current for too long and become extremely difficult to be obtained at a later stage. It should be noted that much more pronounced than the lack of knowledge of the legislative provision is the lack of understanding of the problem as such and its significance by those whose primary activity relates to printing and publication. Therefore, states Đurović, these issues require a different social and cultural approach. The library material has to be protected not only by legislation, but also by our deep conviction of the need to preserve written cultural heritage, complying with international standards in all areas starting from inventories, professional processing to preservation conditions. Since the deposition of an obligatory copy is critical in the protection of movable cultural heritage, this segment of library activity must be regulated by a separate law. Regretfully, pursuant to the current law, the holdings of the national library stay diminished for valuable editions of Montenegrin publishers and printing houses and thus the same holds true for holdings of large national libraries in the country and abroad the CNL “Đurđe Crnojević” has publication exchange arrangements with. There is no need to further explain the importance of obligatory copy pronciple for the development of national bibliography, says Đurović, since bibliographies are made on the de visu principle, meaning that bibliographic information is entered from the publication itself.