The Marley-owned Tuff Gong International on Wednesday donated a series of products to the National Library of Jamaica (NLJ).

The presentation was made by family matriarch Rita Marley at the NLJ's East Street headquarters.

Most of the items are recordings by reggae superstar Bob Marley who died in 1981. They include Legend, the posthumous compilation of his biggest hit songs, that has sold over 10 million units, and a copy of the Bob Marley Interviews which the singer did with Radio Jamaica broadcaster Neville Willoughby during the early 1970s.

Recordings by his sons Ziggy, Stephen and Damian and a DVD of the Marley charity event, Africa Unite, were also presented.

Maureen Webster-Prince, head of the NLJ's audio-visual department, said the gesture was timely.

"For the first time, the National Library seems to be developing a comprehensive collection of Marley recordings. What we had was very minimal," she told The Gleaner.

This was the second presentation by the Marleys to the NLJ. The first was in 1989, when vinyl copies of Legend and Conscious Party (a Grammy-winning album by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers) were donated.

Lorna Wainwright, a senior manager at Tuff Gong, described Wednesday's dedication as an "important step".

"We hope other artistes will come forward and do the same for the National Library," she said.

The NLJ was established in 1979.

- Howard Campbell