§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister for the Arts what is the number of items in the present backlog of accumulated material awaiting entry to the British National Bibliography.
§ Mr. LuceAs at 30 October 1987, the total number of deposited items which have not completed processing for entry in the British National Bibliography is approximately 39,000.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister for the Arts what is the average time between the publication of a British book and its entry details appearing in the British National Bibliography.
§ Mr. LuceAs at 30 October 1987, the average length of elapsed time between the deposit of all newly published British publications at the British Library and the appearance of entries for them in the British National Bibliography is six months.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister for the Arts what plans he has to eliminate the British National Bibliography's backlog of unregistered books.
§ Mr. LuceThis is a matter for the British Library, which, following its consultative paper "Currency with Coverage", has recently announced plans to eliminate backlogs and enable its bibliographic services to keep pace with the rising annual numbers of new publications forecast.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister for the Arts whether he will make a statement as to whether all descriptive entries for all new British publications appear in the British National Bibliography.
§ Mr. LuceDescriptive entries appear in the British National Bibliography for all items deposited, except certain categories of publications as listed in the preface to the "British National Bibliography 1986" annual volumes. The exceptions include printed music (covered in another British Library publication), maps, and certain types of official and other "non-trade" publications.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister for the Arts if he will consult representatives of libraries, booksellers and publishers on the future of the British National Bibliography.
§ Mr. LuceThe British Library's consultative paper on the future development of the British national bibliographic service invited comments from interested parties, and I understand that further consultations with libraries and with the trade are planned.