Requesting scans for teaching

Library Services can often provide digitised extracts from books and journals for teaching, subject to licence coverage and copying limits.

For the most common teaching requests, the CLA Higher Education Licence usually allows up to the greater of:

• one chapter from a book
• two articles from a journal issue
• 10% of the publication

Where a journal issue, or a substantial part of it, is devoted to a particular theme, the CLA Licence may allow any number of articles on that theme to be copied. This additional allowance does not apply to journals classified as CCC Electronic Rights-Works. Library Services will check whether it applies.

The licence does not cover everything. For example, some publishers, works, categories and territories may be excluded. Library staff will check this for you.

If the reading is already available electronically through the Library, the normal approach is to link to that version in the reading list rather than create a scan.

If an ebook is available for purchase, the Library may consider buying it rather than scanning. For certain US-published works covered through the Copyright Clearance Center, the CLA Licence requires the use of a suitable commercially available digital version instead of scanning from print.

To request a scan of a book chapter or journal article not held electronically by the university, use the online request form. New users should click on 'New User' and complete the registration using their Abertay email address. 

Submit a separate scanning request for each module. If the same extract is needed for more than one module, it needs to be checked and recorded separately.

If you have any questions or problems with using online the form, please email library@abertay.ac.uk 

Please allow up to 5 working days for your request to be processed as scanning of materials is outsourced to the British Library. 

Teaching staff should not scan book chapters or journal articles themselves for upload to Leganto or MyLearningSpace.

At Abertay, Library Services manages digitisation for taught-course use so that scanned extracts are checked and shared correctly. This includes checking:

• whether the work is covered
• whether the copying limit is met
• whether the source copy can be used
• whether an electronic version is already available
• whether the extract is being shared in the right way

If you are relying on the CLA licence, do not assume any copy can be used as the source. Publications borrowed on inter-library loan cannot be used as source copies for CLA copying. Personal copies owned by staff should not normally be used either, except in limited circumstances.

Copies made under the CLA licence must be shared only through controlled university systems for the relevant students and staff. They must not be posted on public websites or open platforms.

For more on the wider context, see Uploading PDFs to the VLE and Copyright Guide for Teaching.

If you want to use a scanned extract in more than one Leganto reading list, email library@abertay.ac.uk.

Library staff will set up the additional use so that it is shared and recorded correctly for the relevant module.

Scanned extracts should support and enrich teaching, rather than being combined to replace the purchase of original textbooks

Creating a collection of extracts that substantially covers the same ground as a standard textbook may amount to textbook substitution and would not comply with the CLA Higher Education Licence. The CLA good-practice guidance is helpful here.

If you are unsure whether a proposed set of scans risks crossing that line, ask Library Services before proceeding.