CRL member libraries may request digitization of CRL's holdings when copyright allows. Requests take approximately ten working days to complete. Scans are accessed and downloadable in PDF format through CRL's digital delivery platform.

To request digitization of material member libraries submit an Interlibrary Loan request to CRL.

• Scans are searchable whenever the source material supports OCR processing.
• CRL will digitize longer runs with advance notice to meet research or instruction needs. We reserve the right to restrict the number of items digitized within a time period to ensure other CRL members receive equal service levels.
• All digitized items are retained on our digital delivery platform for future consultation by the CRL scholarly community.
• Depending on copyright, digitized material are made available open access.
• CRL scans to provide copies for research purposes. We do not supply high resolution image reproductions for publication or commercial uses.

Digitization requests are evaluated based on:

Condition: Digitization is a convenience to researchers, but is also used to prevent damage or loss of unique and/or fragile materials in the shared CRL collections. Based on a requested item's condition we may elect to digitize a title rather than deliver the print or microfilm to a user. Condition may also limit digitization, particularly when we have brittle or badly filmed materials that are not suitable for scanning. 

Copyright: Copyright is a primary consideration for reformatting material. In the United States copyright protection generally lasts for 70 years after the death of the author. If the work was a "work for hire", then copyright persists for 95 years after the date of publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Anything after those criteria will require the researcher or requesting library to secure the permission from the copyright holder for digitization.  

Availability: CRL avoids digitizing materials that are otherwise freely accessible in digital format from sources like Google Books, the Internet Archive, and the HathiTrust Digital Library. We are unlikely to digitize it again unless our copy is unique or we can provide a better quality copy. 

Please send additional questions to Access Initiatives at our email.