Digitisation and Copyright: Information for Staff

The Library offers a service to digitise resources included in reading lists.

Book chapters and journal articles can be scanned and the digitised copy then linked directly to the reading list and made available to students.

Academic staff must request material to be digitised via their module reading list on Aspire.

• Log in to Aspire
• Add the resource type as Chapter (How do I do that?) or Article (How do I do that?) with all relevant bibliographic details recorded.
• Click on   ⋮   button next to the resource you would like digitised and select Request digitisation

• Complete all essential fields marked with *

• Click Next once all fields are complete
• Enter Course Name and Course Code if not auto-filled
• Click Next
• Check your e-mail address is correct, then click Next
• Click Close on the final page
• Your request will now be submitted to the library for processing
• You will receive an email update when the digitisation is complete

• CLA HE User Guidelines 
  • These guidelines give you an overview of the terms and conditions of the Licence.
• CLA HE Title Check Permissions tool 
  • If you want to check whether the Licence covers a particular book or journal for scanning, you can enter the title or ISBN/ISSN for instant permissions information. Ensure 'Higher Education' is selected from the drop-down menu on the top left where it says 'Show results by licence sector'.
  • Please remember that scanning/digital copying must only be carried out by the Library's digitisation team. 
• Primo, our Library catalogue
• Digitisation FAQs

• Library staff will check for any copyright restrictions via the Copyright Licensing Agency's (CLA) Digital Content Store (DCS).
• The DCS is an innovative web-based platform which is a searchable repository of digitised book and journal extracts.
• If there are no restrictions, library staff will scan the required chapter/article and the digitised copy will then be linked directly to the reading list and made available to students.
• You will be informed when digitisation is complete.

On occasions, library staff will need to investigate further if a reading is permitted to be used. They will be in touch if there are any issues and will advise you on what to do next (for example, suggest another reading).

Rejected  requests can fall into the following categories:

• excluded works
• request exceeds the x1 chapter/article limit
• request exceeds the 10% limit
• we already have online access to the chapter/article via ebook or electronic journal subscription

Library staff will be in contact with you if the requested reading falls into any of the above categories. 

If your request relates to a publication which isn't stocked in any of our libraries, staff will seek an alternative such as purchasing an ebook version or digital copy of the extract from the British Library (BL). If the BL has a copy of the requested extract, we will order it and they will supply us with a high quality document with Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Copyright fees will be paid by the Library.

Reading lists in Aspire can be updated throughout the year, however all lists must be revised and published by the following deadlines:

• Semester 1 modules:                               31st July​
• Modules taught over both semesters:   31st July​
• Semester 2 modules:                               30th November ​
• Distance learner modules:                      30th June

This allows Library Services sufficient time to purchase or digitise resources for the start of each semester and before the end of the financial year.

All digitised readings are rolled over to the new academic session in June each year. You do not need to re-request material. All digitised extracts used this year will automatically be rolled over to the new academic session and will be available via your module reading list.

You must check your reading list to see if you still require the requested chapter/article for another year and publish it so the library will be alerted.

If you no longer require a reading to be included as digitised material, remove the chapter/article from the reading list. Library staff will process this change and the reading will no longer be visible or accessible online for students.

During the Summer, digitised material will be re-checked against the Copyright Licensing Agency's High Education (CLA HE) licence to ensure they are permitted to be made available for another year. Library staff will pick up on any changes/exclusions in copyright and will contact academic staff/module convenors directly if any items must be removed/replaced.

Information Services submit an annual report of the digital copies made via the Digital Content Store (DCS) to the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA). The report stipulates what chapters and articles have been used during the academic year and how many students are registered on a module. Submitting the report is required under the terms and conditions of the licence.