Kenyan publishers to submit books to House if law amended

National Assembly deputy Speaker Farah Maalim. He filed a Bill to amend the Books and Newspaper Act so that apart from publishers depositing their books with the Registrar of Books and Newspapers, they will be obligated to send a maximum of three copies, and send extra copies in batches of threes upon request October 12, 2011. FILE

All Kenyan publishers will have to submit three copies of their books to Parliament’s library if MPs approve a proposed amendment to the law.

Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim has filed a Bill to amend the Books and Newspaper Act so that apart from publishers depositing their books with the Registrar of Books and Newspapers, they will be obligated to send a maximum of three copies, and send extra copies in batches of threes upon request. The Bill was formally introduced in Parliament Wednesday.

“Many Parliament libraries in the world also serve as national libraries. Some examples include the Parliaments of South Korea, Indonesia and South Africa,” Mr Maalim, who is also the MP of Lagdera noted in the memorandum of the Bill.

“Currently, the Books and Newspapers Act provides for deposit and registration of books and newspapers published in Kenya to the Kenya National Library Services and Kenya National Archives.

“A legal deposit system at Parliament is important as it acts as a mirror wherein all the glory of a nation’s literature is faithfully reflected. It stands as a permanent record of the thoughts, aspirations and discoveries of successive ages and further operates as an instrument to gather a permanent record of the nation’s published works,” he added.

The library in Parliament is used by MPs, staff of Parliament and the former MPs to carry out research on Bills, motions and question and also they are allowed to borrow books to expand their knowledge.