The two bodies are looking at the problems associated with archiving digital material, including software compatibility, third-party rights and geographical jurisdiction, all of which will have to be considered carefully before an archiving system is set up.
The AOP working group includes Associated New Media, Telegraph.co.uk, News International and Economist.com.
In a meeting last week, the group heard from the British Library about existing initiatives to collect and preserve online content under voluntary schemes. In turn they discussed how publishing companies are currently archiving web material.
Dr Clive Field, director of scholarship and collections for the British Library, said: "AOP sites represent a very valuable information source for current and future researchers and therefore would represent priority content for the libraries for deposit under eventual regulations."
British law requires publishers and distributors in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to send one copy of each of their publications to the Legal Deposit Office of the British Library within one month of publication. The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 extends the categories to include online publications and off-line electronic publications such as CD-roms.
A further meeting has been agreed in three months where the group will review progress in the establishment of a Government Advisory Panel to oversee the implementation of regulations under the Act, as well as an ongoing programme of voluntary activity by publishers and libraries.
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