Copyright and Copying Policy

Copyright law (Title 17, United States Code) is applicable on some materials in Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the Special Collections patron to make sure that the patron's use of materials does not violate this law. If possible, Special Collections will provide copyright information on any material when it is requested by the patron. Although copyright is the responsibility of the patron, Special Collections reserves the right to refuse to copy materials if there is good reason to suspect that the intended use is in violation of Title 17, United States Code.

Some manuscript collections may have copying restrictions placed on them by the donor and/or the person who has copyright authority for the manuscripts (usually but not necessarily the donor). For example, a patron may obtain copies of only five or ten letters from a collection of letters. In these cases, Special Collections will inform the patron of the restrictions, and any copying over the set restrictions will only be done with the written permission of the donor or copyright holder. As a general rule, Special Collections will refuse requests for copying more that twenty percent of a manuscript collection.

Another factor in copying is the type and/or condition of the materials. Special Collections reserves the right to refuse to copy materials if the staff feels that copies cannot be made without serious damage to the material. A patron may ask for copies to be made outside of Special Collections (for example, having a photographer make copy prints of photographs in the collection); these requests will be handled on an individual basis.