Talk to your librarian if you are in any doubt about any of the answers you receive to these questions (or about the questions themselves).

• Will this book be available as an e-book for libraries to buy?
• Can libraries buy it as an individual e-book or is it part of a package?
• What is the licensing model for your e-books? Is it single, multi or unlimited user access? Is it a one-off cost or an annual subscription or a credit model?
• How much will the e-book cost compared with the print version?
• Which platform(s) will the e-book be available on? Will there be any difference in pricing and licensing on different platforms?
• How accessible are your e-books? For example, do they meet UK legislation requirements including The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility regulations 2018 and the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 up to conformance level AA? Are they compatible with screen readers, browser accessibility features, and other third-party tools and do they have built-in accessibility tools?
• If you are contributing a chapter to a book, is it possible to upload an open access copy to your institutional or funder repository?

The text on this page has been adapted from Can my Students Read my Books? from the Campaign to Investigate the Library Ebook Market.

There are clauses you can ask your publisher to insert into your contract which will allow your book to be more easily, and affordably, accessed by libraries and library users. You can use some of the examples below:

“Except as otherwise provided below, each purchaser of an e-book licence is granted a non-exclusive licence to download a copy of the e-book to one or more purchaser's computers, tablets or mobile devices for use by any member of staff, accredited visitor or student associated with that purchaser, subject always to the following conditions:

• the e-book may be distributed to registered staff, accredited visitors and students of the purchaser only
• the e-book may be copied by any authorised user to the extent permitted under exceptions to copyright as provided for under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and any related legislation, for example for the purposes of research or private study or quotation
• the e-book is not used in any way that infringes the Moral Rights of its author(s)
• no copyright, trade mark or other proprietary notices contained in the ebook are removed, obscured or otherwise amended
• the e-book licence shall not be transferred or sublicensed to any third party without the express written permission of the Publisher.”

“The Publisher warrants that the e-book meets all appropriate accessibility requirements including The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility regulations 2018 and the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 up to conformance level AA. The Publisher further warrants that its e-book is compatible with screen readers, browser accessibility features, and other third-party tools to ensure appropriate accessibility.”

“The Publisher warrants that it shall include any content in the e-book that was, prior to the signature of this agreement, available as one or more preprints. Authors agree to update any such preprints with a link to the final e-book content.”

The text on this page has been adapted from Can my Students Read my Books? from the Campaign to Investigate the Library Ebook Market.