At one stage, all published books had to have copies lodged with the British Library (and, I believe, the Bodleian Library in Oxford).
Luton library was where all 'motoring' books were kept (at least one copy of all technical manuals was kept there).
As I was living in Luton at the time, I was able to have access to whatever workshop manual I wanted. If they had more than one copy then you could take one home on loan.
At the time I was running a Renault 4 (wife's car) and the Renault official workshop manual was exactly what every Renault dealer had, and it included hints on tracing mystery water leaks that might appear other than where they entered (such as blocked drainage channels) and it was very useful. It also gave drawings and dimensions of any special tools needed so they could be made!
I don't suppose that there
is such a thing as a printed copy of the workshop manual that you want (all on computer nowadays, together with the parts lists) so you might have to find some means of accessing it (through another operator) . . .
Quote:
Legal deposit for printed books and papers has existed in English law since 1662. It helps to ensure that the nation’s published output (and thereby its intellectual record and future published heritage) is collected systematically, and as comprehensively as possible, both in order to preserve the material for the use of future generations and to make it available for readers within the designated legal deposit libraries. These are the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the Bodleian Library Oxford, the Library of Cambridge University and the Library of Trinity College Dublin.
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From:-
http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/stratpolprog/legaldep/
See also:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_d...United_Kingdom