Depositing of digital media

The collection remit of the Austrian National Library also covers periodic electronic media that are not or no longer published. This includes for instance e-journals published on the Internet, online publications by private individuals, companies (annual reports, activity reports, etc.) and academic institutions (e.g. research reports).

Legal information

In cases where online media are subject to access control or restrictions or cannot be automatically collected by the Austrian National Library for technical reasons, the » Austrian Media Act (Sec. 43b MedienG) stipulates the depositing of electronic media by the media owner. The requirement to deposit arises when a written request is made by the Austrian National Library.

As the media owner, you can meet the requirement to deposit in any technical form as agreed with the Austrian National Library. Possible ways of depositing include (Sec. 15 » Legal deposit regulation):

Submitting individual documents by e-mail to » e-pubs@onb.ac.at
Submitting access details for collection via http or https protocol
Providing the media content to be deposited on an FTP or sFTP server
Submitting the media content on a data carrier (CD-ROM, USB stick)

The format of the publication to be deposited should be preferably PDF/A or PDF.

The media content deposited can only be accessed on the premises of the Austrian National Library and other authorised libraries. Electronic reproduction of media content is not possible. It is only possible to make print-outs. As the media owner, you are also able to have the media content blocked for a year by providing corresponding reasons in writing.

By issuing an authorisation of use, you can authorise the Austrian National Library to offer electronic publications over and beyond the restrictions described above.

Authorisation of use

With an authorisation of use, you , as the media owner, can determine how the Austrian National Library may make your publications available. There are three options:

Freely on the Internet
Multiple access within the network of the Austrian National Library
Individual access within the network of the Austrian National Library (as standard by law)

Please send the completed and signed » authorisation of use scanned in to » e-pubs@onb.ac.at or by post or fax to:

Österreichische Nationalbibliothek / Austrian National Library
Hauptabteilung Digitale Bibliothek /Digital Library Main Department/LZA
Josefsplatz 1
1015 Vienna
Fax: +43 1 534 10-610