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Welcome to HERON
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Heron provides a service for UK academic institutions that wish to provide online access to student readings.
Increasingly students today are working part time or are distance learners. They often study off campus and want quick and easy access to learning materials. Higher and Further Education Institutions are responding by providing access to electronic texts and developing virtual learning environments (VLEs).
Heron primarily deals with book and journal extracts. It has developed a resource bank of over 2.5 million digitised extracts for rapid re-use (subject to copyright permissions). Heron also offers its subscribers experience and strength in negotiations with publishers and other rightsholders.
Many aspects of the service which Heron provides are unique:
• The Heron service is a one-stop-shop for copyright clearance and digitisation, enabling universities and colleges to provide access to key learning materials for all their students, wherever they are based.
• One of the major aims of Heron is that all the stakeholders should benefit from its work. This includes not only students, the end users of the services which Heron supplies, but also academic staff, library staff, publishers and other rightsholders.
• As well as providing its core service, Heron also offers its subscribers extensive support in many aspects of the development and provision of access to digital materials.
• Heron is a service which has grown from within the academic sector. It is driven very largely by its subscribers and by the Heron staff who have an academic background and who understand the needs and concerns of the sector.
• However, Heron is also committed to both raising awareness amongst HEIs and FEIs of rightsholders' real concerns regarding issues of digitisation, (such as potential loss of sales revenue, and loss of control over the content of their material), and ensuring that rightsholders receive a fair return.
Heron currently has 73 subscribing institutions across the British Isles.
"After 25 years in the profession I have seen many things come and go. Heron is one of the good ones, so I hope things go from strength to strength" - Deborah Bragan-Turner, Arts Librarian, University of Nottingham
Last updated 8th April 2008
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New Subscribers
18th HUG Meeting
The 18th HUG Meeting will be held on Tuesday 17th June, at the Waterloo Campus of King's College London. An agenda will follow shortly.
New Subscriber
Heron is pleased to welcome University of Bournemouth and the University of Worcester as the latest subscribers to Heron.
For more information, see the Finding Out More section.
New Subscriber
Heron is pleased to welcome Brunel University and the University of Hertfordshire as the latest subscribers to Heron.
For more information, see the Finding Out More section.
New Subscriber
Heron is pleased to welcome JCEA from Japan as the latest subscriber to Heron.
For more information, see the Finding Out More section.
17th HUG Meeting
Some reports and agenda the agenda from the most recent HUG are now available from News and Events.
New Subscriber
Heron has broken out of the UK (again!) and is pleased to welcome Unipub from Norway as the latest subscriber to Heron.
For more information, see the Finding Out More section.
The Brookings Institution Press signs Heron publisher licence
The Brookings Institution Press has added their book titles to Heron's list of material available for immediate clearance and inclusion in electronic course packs. For more information, see the FAQ section.
Case Studies
A New Case Study from LSE has been put online in the 'About Heron' section.
More information about Heron can be found in our FAQ and Finding out more sections.
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