Faculty: Scan Your Textbook Using Apps

While we have made every effort to find free Free Online Textbooks, not all of the textbooks in use at Los Angeles Valley College are available to access for free online. However, you can also use a scanner if you have access to one, or download an app to your phone to “scan” pages from your textbooks and upload them to Canvas for your students.

The LAVC Library is recommending two free apps, OfficeLens and Adobe Scan, which are also the Wirecutter’s top picks. However, there are many other free and low-cost scanning apps available on the Google Play and Apple app stores – use whichever scanning app you prefer.

Overall Recommendations for Effective Scanning

• Use strong lighting.

   Scanning apps perform better when the lighting is bright. Set up your scanning station on your desk, kitchen counter, etc., and add additional lighting if needed.

• Perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on your scans. 

  OCR makes it so your scanned documents can be read by a screen reader, so your students that have vision impairment or low vision will be able to access the information. It also means that you and your students can easily highlight or copy passages from the reading. 

  Both Office Lens and Adobe Scan automatically perform OCR when you export your scans as PDFs.

• Post your scans on Canvas.

   Posting on Canvas makes it so your scans are only accessible by your students during this semester, so that you reduce the chance of copyright infringement.

What About Copyright?

A number of copyright specialists have weighed in on this issue and have concluded that during a public health crisis such as this, scanning and distributing copyrighted materials directly to students is allowable under fair use:

“It is evident that making materials available and accessible to students in this time of crisis will almost always be a fair use. As long as we are being thoughtful … and limiting our activities to the specific needs of our [students] during this time of crisis, copyright law supports our uses. The fair use doctrine accommodates the flexibility required by our shared public health crisis, enabling society to function and progress while protecting human life and safety.” (Public Statement of Library Copyright Specialists: Fair Use & Emergency Remote Teaching & Research, page 3)