CLA Licence

Library staff are permitted to scan and digitise items in University libraries under the terms of the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) UUK / Guild HE Basic Licence for photocopying and scanning.

To summarise, the CLA licence:

  • allows the creation of digital copies from originals which are either owned by the University, or from a copyright fee paid (CFP) copy of a chapter / article supplied by an organisation holding a document delivery licence with CLA e.g. the British Library
  • allows photocopying and scanning of (whichever is the greater) up to 10% or one chapter of a book or one article of a journal issue
  • allows scanning of items to be available to students on a course of study
  • allows scanning for educational purposes only
  • does not allow blanket scanning or commercial onward use (scanned copies are not intended to substitute primary purchases)
  • covers UK and US publications (and some other International Territories) - further exclusions can be found at https://www.cla.co.uk/excluded-works

Staff requesting digitisation for reading lists

Any member of academic teaching staff within Aberystwyth University with a module and a published reading list on Aspire (if a reading list is required for a module) can use this service. The service is free to all our academic staff.

To request a chapter or article to be digitised:

  • Add the resource type as chapter or article with all the relevant bibliographic details to your Aspire reading list
  • Click the Request Digitisation option from the menu next to the reading
  • Complete and submit a short online form

Library staff will create or obtain a copyright-cleared, digitised copy of the chapter/article and link it directly to the item in the Aspire Reading List. If there are any copyright restrictions, library staff will be in touch to advise. 

Further information: How do I request material to be digitised for a reading list?