ResourceSpace: NYSID's Digital Media Collections

Using and Sharing Materials

Students, faculty and staff are free to use media assets found within ResourceSpace for internal purposes as long as proper credit is provided.  If students use something for an assignment, they will need to cite the material using MLA format.  To learn how to cite materials using the MLA format, please refer to our MLA Citation guide.  

If students, faculty or staff plan on using media assets that they are not the owner of in an external publication of any kind, they will need to obtain prior permission from the owner of the material(s).  If you are unsure of who to contact, please get in touch with the NYSID Library at reference@libanswers.nysid.edu.  

Copyright Restrictions

While NYSID holds the copyright to most materials in ResourceSpace, the collections come from various sources. Some items may have copyright restrictions, and in certain cases, NYSID holds only the physical property rights—not the copyright.

How to Check Copyright Status

When you select an asset in ResourceSpace, a dialog box will appear with:

• A larger thumbnail of the image
• Download options on the right
• Metadata fields below

Scroll to the Copyright Statement field at the bottom of the box.

Here’s how to interpret it:

• If NYSID owns the copyright:
  You may use the material for classwork or internal use. For any external publishing or distribution, you must obtain permission from the NYSID archivist.
• If the copyright is unknown or owned by another person or entity:
  • For academic use, proper citation is required.
  • For public use (e.g., publishing or sharing), you must first:
    1. Get permission from the NYSID archivist.
    2. Secure rights from the copyright holder. The archivist may assist in locating them.
• If the copyright status is “no known copyright”:
  This means that, to the best of the Archives' knowledge, the material is likely in the public domain. However, copyright can be difficult to determine, and unknown restrictions may still exist.
  If you use the material for commercial or public purposes without securing rights, you are responsible if a rights holder objects.

Note: If NYSID grants permission to reproduce or publish a work it does not own the copyright to, it does so only as the physical owner. The Archives assumes no liability for potential copyright infringement.