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Using the Library

Library Copyright Guidance: Scanning & Photography

To protect the privacy of Library users and staff, photography in the Library is not allowed without permission (on photography in the Special Collections Reading Room, see Special Collections material). All users can photocopy and scan at any machine in SOAS.

Material which can be borrowed from the Library may be scanned or photographed by users outside the Library under either:

  • Fair dealing for private study or research. The same conditions apply as for photocopying under fair dealing for private study or research (see Photocopying Library material). You should only produce one copy for your own private, non-commercial use, and should not send it to anyone else (e.g. by email); or
  • One of the copyright provisions which allow material to be copied in order to reproduce it in another work: see Reproduction of Library material.

In addition, the CLA licence allows SOAS academic staff to scan extracts from books, journals and magazines published in territories which mandate scanning for delivery to students via the Bloomsbury Learning Environment. See SOAS Copyright Guidance - Scanning for the BLE for further details. The licence does not authorise scanning by SOAS students or external Library users.

Last updated January 2020