Institutions established depository library programmes to ensure universal access to specified documentation. Access to depository materials has traditionally been physical, requiring publishing, dispatching, cataloguing and shelving of documents. With the global shift from print to online availability of material, institutions are questioning whether their depository library programmes have become redundant. Are depository schemes anachronistic when the public can access documents directly via the internet? Depository libraries must also look at whether, in the face of evolving priorities, they should continue to acquire material through such schemes. This paper seeks to understand changes affecting depository library programmes and explores an appropriate model for the International Labour Organization (ILO). The paper argues that, drawing from the experiences of others, the ILO should encourage the electronic dissemination of publications, and work with a more limited set of partners to promote the availability of ILO documentation and research. The content of this paper is the opinion of the author and does not imply the expression of opinions on the part of the “Fribourg formation continue” programme or the ILO Library
