XClose

Library Services

Menu

Course Readings Service

The Course Readings Service gives taught course students access to digitised materials that are in high demand and essential, and not available as e-books, or e-journal articles.

Contents

About the Course Readings Service

The Course Readings Service gives taught course students access to digitised materials that are in high demand and essential, and not available as e-books or e- journal articles for example extracts from books and print journals. Readings are digitised where possible and delivered via your online reading list for each course. Students registered on the course may download and print out a copy of the extract.

All material made available through the Course Readings Service must comply with the provisions of copyright law and UCL's CLA licence. The TLS is set up to administer digitised course readings so they comply with the licences. More details about the CLA licence. 

N.B. You do not need to use the CLA / other licences if the work you wish to copy is:

  • out of copyright
  • covered for this use by a UK copyright exception
  • already licenced for this use (for example, with a CC licence or an explicit Open Access statement)
  • if you own the copyright in the work
  • you have explicit permission from the rights owner. The rights owner may be the publisher, rather than the author, so check carefully.

Similarly, readings already available as full text through UCL's e-journal or e-book subscriptions, and also material that is accessible on Open Access platforms and websites, can easily be linked to your online reading list. You can request editing rights to your online list by submitting a simple webform, and once you accept the invite, you will be able to add these resources to your online reading list.

If you are not sure if a reading can be digitised, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) administers the service - contact TLS.

Course readings: what can be included

Course readings are typically book extracts and journal articles, but can include copies of images and diagrams from printed sources, lecture notes and other teaching materials.

The Course Readings Service takes advantage of UK copyright licensing schemes (including the CLA, NLA, ERA and others) to make available material protected by copyright. There are certain restrictions on what material can be added to the collection using these licenses, please bear them in mind when selecting material to be digitised: CLA Licence limits.

How to request digitisation of Course Material

Our library guides provide information on how to use the "note to Library" field on your online reading list to request essential items for digitisation. The process is also summarised below:

  1. Click the three dots to the right on an item on your online reading list.
  2. Select "note for Library" from the drop down menu.
  3. Add the bibliographic details e.g chapter title, author, number and pagination. Failure to provide both chapter title/number and pagination may result in a delay.
  4. Add the date you added the note, and Publish your online reading list.
  5. In order for your readings to be available for the start of First Term, it is advisable to request digitisation eight weeks before the start of term: that is, by 01 August. Similarly, course readings required for the start of Second Term, should be requested by 01 November.

Providing these details will help TLS staff copyright check and digitise your readings quickly: inaccurate or missing details will slow the process down.

OR

  1. Complete a Course Readings submission form (one for each extract). Download form.
  2. TLS use the Scan and Send service to digitise extracts, but if you want to provide your own PDF copy for TLS,  please scan the extract from an edition held in UCL Library, and include a scan of the front and back of the title page of the book from which the extract comes (this page gives details of publisher, date and place of publication).
  3. Send the submission form and the PDFs to TLS via UCL Dropbox .
  4. In order for your readings to be available for the start of First Term, it is advisable to submit your request eight weeks before the start of term: that is, by 01 August. Similarly, course readings required for the start of Second Term, should be submitted by 01 November.

Providing these details will help TLS staff copyright check and digitise your readings quickly: inaccurate or missing details will slow the process down.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Once the lead times have been adhered to, and bibliographic information provided, TLS will aim to process requests for digitisation in 10 working days for items that are cleared by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) that do not require permission, or purchasing as a Copyright Fee Paid copy. Permissions requests can take considerably longer to complete, and if after six weeks we are unable to fulfil the request, we will get in touch with you. Please note, that our SLA may vary if full bibliographic information has not been provided, and during our busy times throughout the year.  

What Happens Next

  1. Readings will be checked to determine whether they are copyright compliant, and whether they can be digitised under the terms of our CLA Licence. 
  2. TLS staff will ensure an accessible PDF to the standards specified by the CLA licence are linked to your online reading list. The reading will sit safely on a UCL server and, if you are off-campus, you will be prompted to log in with your UCL ID to access the reading.
  3. If the reading cannot be digitised, because it is excluded from the CLA licence, TLS will seek permission from the rightsholder, and if granted, will link the item to your online reading list. Please note that publishers often take several weeks to respond to permission requests, so requests should therefore be submitted as far in advance of the required date as possible. If permission is denied or otherwise unobtainable, TLS will be in touch with the requestor and the Subject Liaison Librarian about further options.
  4. TLS will notify you when the reading is made available via your online reading list. 

Can It Be Digitised?

Yes, if:

  • UCL Library owns a copy of the book or journal from which the extract was taken;
  • the source publisher and work is opted in to the CLA licence. The CLA's look up tool can give a good indication of whether the source can be copied from.
  • the extract falls within the limits of the licence (e.g. one chapter or 10% - whichever is greater).
  • From a journal, two whole articles from a journal issue or, where the issue (or a substantial part of it) is devoted to a particular theme can be used.

    Course readings remain available for the whole academic year. Each Summer all course readings are reviewed, and TLS may be in touch about specific readings. 

    Contact TLS

    TLS staff are happy to answer questions and give advice.

    Course Readings Service