The legal foundation and administration of library services in the United Kingdom are reviewed in terms of legislative acts which currently affect library services directly: the Public Libraries and Museums Act of 1964 places public library services under the Secretary of State for Education as part of the reorganization of the local authority structure to produce fewer and larger authorities under the Local Government Act of 1972; a national library for the United Kingdom was established through the British Library Act of 1972; and photocopying in libraries is affected by both the Copyright Act of 1956 and the Public Lending Right Act of 1977. The latter makes statutory provision for the payment of royalties to authors. (JEG)