This page explains the charges which apply to information which is made available by SOAS under our Freedom of Information Publication Scheme, and how to order copies of information. For details of the charges which to apply to Freedom of Information and Environmental Information requests, see Submitting a Freedom of Information or Environmental Information request.

1. Online information

Information listed in the Guide to Information is available on the SOAS website unless otherwise indicated. Online information may be downloaded without charge.

2. Paper copies

Where:

  • You require a printout of the Guide to Information, or information which is available to download from the SOAS website; or
  • The Guide to Information indicates that an item is available in paper format only;

SOAS will charge for photocopies or printouts (as appropriate) at the rate of £0.30 per page plus postage.

Charges may be waived at the discretion of the Information Compliance Manager, and will be waived in all instances where you require a hard copy because of a disability.

Paper copies may be ordered by contacting the Information Compliance Manager at the following address:

Information Compliance Manager
Information & Technology Directorate
SOAS
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7898 4150
Email: freedomofinformation@soas.ac.uk

On receipt of your request, we will inform you of any charges that apply. Payment must be received in advance before copies can be supplied.

3. Material in the SOAS Library

Items held in the SOAS Library (including archives and manuscripts in the Special Collections Reading Room) are available for inspection in the Library, subject to the Library's rules governing access: see Admission to the Library and Archives and Manuscripts for further details. The Library does not undertake detailed research for enquirers. If you are unable to visit to conduct your research in person, you can appoint an independent researcher to do so for you on payment of a fee to be agreed with you. Lists of independent researchers are available on the websites of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives and the National Archives . The purpose of their research is to discover whether SOAS holds the information you seek and to obtain a copy or prepare a summary of it for you.

Most items in the Library are on open access, and may be photocopied by users using the self-service photocopiers which are provided in the Library. The Library's web page on Photocopying Services provides further information about the charges for self-service photocopying. Self-service photocopying is not permitted for archives, manuscripts and rare books in the Special Collections Reading Room. The Reading Room does not offer a photocopying service. Photography, using a digital or SLR-lens camera, is permitted under certain conditions and at the discretion of the Reading Room staff. Where photography is permitted, users may photograph items using their own equipment without charge.

4. Re-use of information

The copyright of information published under SOAS's Publication Scheme will be owned by SOAS unless otherwise indicated. The supply of information under the Freedom of Information Act or the Environmental Information Regulations does not give the person or organisation who receives it an automatic right to re-use the information in a way which would infringe copyright, for example, by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public.

Where copyright belongs to SOAS, content which is available to download from SOAS's website is licensed for use under a Creative Commons licence, unless the individual resource indicates otherwise. See the website's Copyright Notice for further details. The website's Creative Commons licence does not apply to content contributed to SOAS Research Online (SOAS's open access research repository), which has its own terms and conditions of use.

Brief extracts of other material published under the Publication Scheme may be reproduced under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes, private study, criticism, review and news reporting. More extensive re-use must only be carried out with prior written permission from SOAS. Enquiries about the re-use of material should be directed to SOAS's Information Compliance Manager (see above for contact details).