In 2000, a new law was adopted regarding the obligatory depositing of copies of printed and other works. The objective of the law is to ensure the collection and preservation of copies of printed works; works circulated/disseminated by sound recordings; cine-film or electronic format stored by physical and juridical persons; and dissertations and research works qualifying for academic recognition. These can be works protected within the country and/or produced by Bulgarian citizens abroad. Orders, medals, badges and plaques, coins and bank-notes, post stamps designed for usage in the country are also included in the law. It also regulates the preservation of complete collections of works as part of the national cultural heritage, ensuring public access to compulsory copies, as well as preparation, publishing, and dissemination of bibliographic information.
The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act (1993) defines public lending as “distribution of a work, which means the sale, exchange, donation, rental or lending, import and export, as well as the offer for sale or rental of any originals and copies of the work”.
The Public Libraries Act (2009) regulates the conditions that public libraries need to meet, their financing, their governance and interaction in a national network. Unified standards for the work of the libraries and the services they provide are introduced.
The law envisages the creation of a National Library Council at the Ministry of Culture, which prepares strategies for the development of library activities, measures for the preservation of the funds and for citizen access to cultural heritage. The law envisages sanctions for those who lose, damage or destroy documents from the library fund and for officials who fail to secure conditions for their preservation.
In 2015, by order of the Minister of Culture, the Standard for Library Information Services has been approved. The document defines the conditions for the operation of public libraries in Bulgaria and it includes:
• Indicators for regional, municipal and community libraries;
• Indicators for measuring the effectiveness of library activity in public libraries;
• Indicators for the National Library St. St. Cyril and Methodius.
Although it has no legal basis, there is an Ethics Charter for Bulgarian Publishers, Book Distributors, Literary Agents, Libraries and Translators. It aims to contribute to the full access of society to information, education and cultural values, to ensure its right to satisfy intellectual and spiritual needs through works and services, created and offered by the book sector.
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