National Library of Scotland Act 2012

3 Acquisitions, deposits and disposal of objects

(1) NLS may—

(a) acquire (by purchase, exchange or gift),

(b) accept on deposit,

any object which it considers it is desirable to add to its collections.

(2) The powers in subsection (1) are in addition to any other powers or means of acquisition or acceptance on deposit.

(3) NLS may dispose of any object from its collections if—

(a) the object is a duplicate of, or similar to, another object in the collections,

(b) NLS considers that the object is not required for the purposes of the collections,

(c) because of damage, deterioration or infestation by destructive organisms, the object is no longer of use for the purposes of the collections,

(d) the object is hazardous,

(e) in any other case, the Scottish Ministers agree to the disposal.

(4) Disposal under subsection (3) may be by sale, exchange, gift, return or destruction.

(5) The power in subsection (3) is in addition to any other powers of disposal, in particular those conferred by—

(a) section 6 of the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 (c.44), and

(b) section 2 of the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 (c.16).

(6) The power in subsection (3) does not apply in relation to an object which is relevant material within the meaning of section 7 of the 2003 Act.

(7) Where an object is subject to a prohibition or restriction on disposal, NLS may dispose of the object under subsection (3) in a manner inconsistent with the prohibition or restriction only—

(a) with the consent of the person having the right to enforce the prohibition or restriction, or

(b) in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (3)(c) or (d).