Building the National Memory: the Role of Legal Deposit Acts in Uganda

Abstract

The paper presents the role of legal deposit acts in building the national memory in Uganda.It defines the concepts of legal deposit and national memory and how they relate to each other.The historical background of legal deposit is then outlined.This is followed by the development of legal deposit Acts in Uganda, namely the Makerere University College (Deposit Library) Act, 1964, the Deposit Library and Documentation Centre Act, 1969 and the National Library Act, 2003.Furthermore, the paper discusses the roles played by Makerere University Library, the Deposit Library and Documentation Centre and the National Library of Uganda in building national memory.The differences and similarities between the three legal depositories are anlysed.Finally the challenges faced by these institutions in playing their roles are discussed and recommendations given. 1.IntroductionThe concept of legal deposit is defined as "A government provision which compels producers of all types of publications to deposit a certain number of copies of each publication in a designated or similar institution" (Jasion, 1991, p.7).National memory can be referred to as the published material produced by a particular nation and is preserved for the posterity.The aim of legal deposit as outlined by Jasion is to develop and preserve a national collection of published material.It was first implemented in 1537, when King François I of France issued the royal decree that forbade the sale of any book without first having deposited a copy ______________ *This paper is part of a research

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