Archives and Special Collections at NYSID: Rights and Reproductions

Reproductions

Personal Camera Use / Photocopying & Scanning policy

While the NYSID Archives & Special Collections encourages researchers to use their own cameras or hand-held devices to capture images of material for research purposes, scanning can be arranged for most materials.  These services have a nominal fee associated with them and must be handled by the Archivist/designated library staff. The preferred payment for these services is cash or check in US dollars.

Please do not use flash when taking photographs of archival materials.

The Archives reserves the right to withhold access or permission to reproduce for the protection of fragile or restricted items.  Reproductions of materials larger than 11×17 are subject to review by the Archivist.  At this time, the Archives does not provide reproductions of its audiovisual materials.

Copyright regulations governing reproductions: 

Supplying a reproduction is not an authorization to publish.

The Copyright Law of the United States (U.S. Code, Title 17) governs the making of photocopies and reproductions of copyrighted material. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission for use of any material where copyrights, literary property rights, or other forms of ownership of intellectual property may apply, in conformance with the provisions of the United States Copyright Law. Photocopies are provided for scholarship and research purposes only and may not be further reproduced.

Fee Structure for On-Site Reproduction Services

• Personal Camera: No Fee / No limit
• Scanning (B/W, Grayscale or Color) : $5 per image / Limit 20 scans per day

Rights & Permission to Publish

In order to publish collection material from the NYSID Archives & Special Collections, researchers are required to request permission from the Archivist, pay any associated fees for its usage, and agree to properly cite the collection in the published work. Published works include but are not limited to: books, articles, documentaries, feature films, all forms of web publishing (articles, blog posts, and social media), and theses/dissertations.

To the extent that it may do so, the Archives will ordinarily grant one-time publication and media production rights to applicants.  In granting single-work permission to publish or to produce media, the Archives does not surrender its own right to publish or to release media created from materials in its collections or to grant permission to others to publish them.

The Archivist can only grant permission to publish those materials in its holdings for which it owns copyright.   As is the nature of archival collections, the Archives contains materials for which it only has the property rights, not the copyright.  To read more about copyright restrictions, please read the Copyright Restrictions below.

All approved uses of collection material must include a credit line, the exact form of which will be specified on the approval notice.

The NYSID Archives & Special Collections does not assume responsibility for infringement of copyright in the material held by others.

To request for permission to publish material from the NYSID Archives & Special Collections, please download the Permissions Agreement Form, fill it out, and email it to jsandy@nysid.edu

You may also mail the form to:

Julie Sandy
NYSID Library
170 E 70^th Street
New York, NY 10021

The NYSID Archives requests a gift copy of each publication in which use is made of its materials, where the character of the publication does not render such a gift impracticable.

Copyright Restrictions

The collections of the Archives are obtained from many sources, and certain materials may have copyright restrictions.  While the NYSID Archives & Special Collections holds the copyright to some materials, the Archives also contains materials for which NYSID has the property rights only, not the copyright. The responsibility for obtaining all necessary permissions remains with the requester.

• If NYSID holds the copyright to the material, permission will be granted by the NYSID Archives & Special Collections.

• If NYSID does not own the copyright, the requester is responsible for clearing the rights with the rights holders. To facilitate this process, the Archives has done its best to locate the rights holders of its material. To find out who owns the copyright of an item or collection you are interested in, please contact jsandy [at] nysid.edu.

• If there is no known copyright holder, the phrase of “no known copyright” will be applied to the material. The phrase means that the Archives has determined, to the best of its ability based on available information, that the collection material is unlikely to be protected by copyright and, in all likelihood, is in the public domain. However, copyright is often difficult to determine with certainty, so the phrase is intended to say that the Archives is unaware of any copyright restriction, but such restrictions may still exist. If you decide to use the material for commercial or other purposes without undertaking to clear all rights, you will be responsible if someone else owns the rights and the owner objects to your use.

Note: In granting reproduction permission to publish material which NYSID does not own the copyright to, NYSID acts as the owner of the physical object only. The Archives takes no responsibility for any possible infringement of copyright laws in the publication of its material.

Usage Fees

The Archivist can provide researchers with digital files of existing scans as well as new scans.  Images are at least 300 dpi and are provided as JPEG/TIFF files unless otherwise requested.

Additional Terms and Conditions:

• Fees for photocopying and scanning may also apply.
• Nonprofit fees apply to academic journals, university presses, theses and dissertations.
• NYSID Archives & Special Collections reserves the right to determine the category of use.
• Please indicate a deadline for your request.
• Rates may be higher for book covers, large publication runs, films, and extended use.
• Rights to publish are granted only for a single use for a period not to exceed ten years.
• Usage for promotional materials is determined on a case-by-case basis.