The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. We reserve the right to refuse to accept a duplication request if, in our judgment, fulfillment of the request would involve violation of copyright law.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” Reproductions may not be made for or donated to other Repositories. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. In most cases, the library is not the holder of copyright for the materials held in its collection. The library cannot grant permission for uses of material that fall outside of fair use. Instead, the responsibility falls on the user to obtain that permission.

Copyright law protects unpublished as well as published materials. If you wish to use either published or unpublished materials from our collections in a publication, you must determine whether the work has passed into the public domain and is no longer under copyright protection, find the copyright holders and get permission to use the material, or determine whether your use is protected by fair use or another limitation or exception to copyright.

As curators, librarians and historians, our staff members are responsible for safeguarding the condition of materials in our Collection and for respecting the wishes and interests of authors and donors. We also wish to contribute to scholarship and teaching and want to make the public more aware of the books, manuscripts, and historic items we have. To accomplish these goals, the reproduction of items is often required. Each item to be reproduced must be evaluated by our staff based on:

1. Physical condition — some books, architectural drawings, historic maps, or other items are sometimes too fragile to reproduce without endangering the originals.
2. Copyright issues — copyright restrictions may often apply to previously published materials. If the item is unpublished, copyright may rest in the hands of the author or his or her heirs. Please note that it is the sole responsibility of the user of such materials to investigate the copyright status of any given work and to seek and obtain permission where needed prior to any distribution or publication.
3. Restrictions set by donors — while it is rare, some manuscript collections or donated items in our Collection might have restrictions against reproduction or publication. We encourage users of our materials to inquire.
4. Physical size — some items, such as maps or architectural drawings, are too large to photocopy or fit on our office scanners. These will require digitization by outside professionals, which often entails more time and cost.

We reserve the right to refuse to accept a duplication request if, in our judgment, fulfillment of the request would involve violation of copyright law. Reproductions may not be made for or donated to other repositories.