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

COVID-19 Update

The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) have temporarily amended the terms of its Higher Education Licence in relation to printed books published by participating publishers. We will be able to make an increased amount of digitised content from printed books giving students greater access to online learning resources until 31 July 2021.

The main change is:

  • The extent limit for scanning from print books is increased to 20% or two chapters, whichever is the greater, compared to the usual 10% or 1 chapter.
  • This applies to:

Please note the following:

  • The extended permission is temporary, and will terminate on 31 July 2021, after which the licence will revert to the standard extent limit of 10% or one chapter.
  • All extracts uploaded (i.e. the second chapter) under this special provision will be removed by 31 July 2021.

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. 

Please note: if you wish to make use of the 20% extension, chapters must be entered seperately in your Aspire list.

Instructions can be found at the following FAQ: https://faqs.aber.ac.uk/3012