Background
3.The Act modernises the governing legislation for the National Library of Scotland, which was established by virtue of the National Library of Scotland Act 1925 (c.73). The Act defines the functions of the governing body and updates its powers to bring them in line with those of modern public bodies. The 1925 Act did not specifically provide for the governing body’s functions, which have evolved over time.
4.The Act also reduces the size of the board of the governing body, removes reserved places and ensures all appointments are made by the Scottish Ministers based on merit and selection. This will bring the provisions for the board into line with current public appointments practice under the Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 4).
5.A public consultation on the role and governance of the National Library of Scotland was carried out between March and June 2010, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/03/31102621/1. A Scottish Government response was published in March 2011 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/03/Publications.
6.In these Explanatory Notes and the Act, the “1925 Act” means the National Library of Scotland Act 1925, which the Act will replace, and the “2003 Act” means the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 (c.28), which the Act does not substantively amend.
