What does the Digitisation Service do?
The Digitisation Service scan and make available digitised extracts from books and journals for whole classes under the terms of the CLA licence. There are restrictions on what we can make available under the licence but the Digitisation Service will check this and liaise with customers as required.
Requests for digitised extracts are typically submitted by academic staff but can be submitted by students and others. Requests for digitised extracts for individual use (e.g. for essays or individual research) can be made via the Personal scan service.
How do I submit a digitisation request?
The preferred method for submitting a request is via the online reading list for the class. Details of how to request an extract can be found in the Request Digitisation section of the Reading Lists @ Strathclyde LibGuide.
Alternatively, you can complete the Digitisation Request form or e-mail [email protected] .
You’ve submitted a digitisation request – what happens next?
The request will be checked to make sure it is allowed under the Copyright Licencing Agency (CLA) licence, signed by the University. If we cannot provide the digitised extract as detailed in the request we will be in touch to let you know and discuss options. If we can provide the extract under the licence we will move forward with the request.
Once the digitised extract has been made we will add a link to the extract to the online reading list for your class. We can also provide a link that can be added to Myplace or your class handbook. The extract has been made solely for the use of the students on the named course. If you wish to make the same reading available to students on another course just let us know and we can provide you with another class specific link you can use.
How long will it take for the digitised extract to become available?
We will endeavour to make digitised extracts available as quickly as possible - we have been known to make extracts available in as little as a couple of hours. However, there are a number of factors that may mean it will take longer e.g. insufficient or incomplete details being supplied in the original request, the book not being in library stock or on loan. We will let you know if we need more details or if there will be a significant delay in making the scan available and, where possible, try to suggest other options.
Why can’t I just make the scan myself?
Under copyright law we need a licence to make digitised extracts available from published works. It is a condition of our licence with the CLA that scans are made by ‘designated persons’ (i.e. Library staff) and we report annually to CLA on what scans have been made available to students. If we were found to be making scans and not reporting them properly to CLA this could result in reputational damage and potential legal action against the University. In addition, scans made by the Library are generally higher resolution and more accessible than scans made on home or departmental equipment.
Where can I get more information about the Digitisation Service and the Reading List Service
Go to our Guide to the Reading List Service. For information on digitisation look in the Staff Handbook & FAQs tab.