Guidelines for the discard and retention of library material These guidelines summarise the National Library's policy on discarding materials from its print collections. They are based on two simple principles: 1.The National Library generally does not collect multiple copies of library material, except in the case of Australian monograph material considered to be of high research value and likely to be in high demand, where two copies are acquired: an N or legal deposit copy and an additional NL or lending copy. The Library's overseas printed collection generally consists of only single copies. Additional copies of some Australian publications may also be acquired for the Library's reference collection, and are not intended to be preserved once they outlive their usefulness for this purpose. The nature and development of both the overseas and Australian print collections is governed by the Library's