ACRL College & Researc Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Draft Statement on the Reproduction of Manuscripts and Archives for Commercial Purposes

The following statement was prepared by the

Committee on Manuscripts Collections of the ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section. It will be considered for approval by the ACRL Board of Directors at the 1975 Annual Conference in San Francisco. All comments and suggestions for revision should be sent to the chairman of the committee, Clyde C. Walton, Director of Libraries, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois 60115.

1. It is the responsibility of libraries, archives, or manuscript repositories to facilitate access to original collections by permitting commercial publishing companies to reproduce, reprint, or otherwise publish certain collections in its possession, unless:

a. the physical condition of the originals prohibits reproduction

b. there are legal restrictions which prohibit or limit reproduction of the originals.

2. No repository shall be expected to reproduce a complete manuscript collection or archival record group.

3. The commercial publisher shall agree to the following conditions:

a. Permission. (1) The publisher shall be responsible for compliance with all copyright and other legal requirements applicable to reproduction of the material borrowed and will obtain (and will deliver to the owning institution a duplicate executed counterpart of) all such consents, licenses, and other instruments as may be necessary for such compliance. (2) The publisher shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the owning institution, its officers and employees, any and all of them, against and from any liability, loss, cost or expense whatsoever, including attorney’s fees, which the owning institution, its officers and employees, any and all of them, may at any time incur arising out of or relating to the reproduction of any of its manuscripts.

b. Acknowledgment. The publisher shall cause the reproduction of any manuscript collection or archival record group to show that it has been made from an original in the library of the owning institution.

c. Quality of Reproduction. The publisher shall cause his reproduction to be of a quality satisfactory to the institution from which he has borrowed the originals, and, if published on microfilm, shall meet the minimum standards for microfilming established by the Library of Congress. If the reproduction is published in book form, the publisher must use permanent paper (as defined by the Barrow Laboratories, Richmond, Virginia).

d. The Original. (1) The publisher will not permit original manuscripts or other archival materials to suffer physical damage while in his care. Should damage occur, all repairs are to be made by qualified conservators in accordance with guidelines established by the owning institution and at the expense of the publisher. (2) If the archival or manuscript materials are damaged beyond repair, the publisher must reimburse the owning institution at the value set by an independent appraiser who is jointly selected and therefore satisfactory to both the publisher and the owning institution.

e. Reproduction. The owning institution shall specify when the reproductions are to be made and the conditions under which they will be made.

f. Royalties. The owning institution shall receive from the publisher (1) an agreed royalty which has been established in advance by legal contract and (2) a sufficient number of copies of the publisher’s reproduction for the institution’s internal use.

g. Restrictions. The publisher must respect any restrictions placed upon reproductions or copies of original manuscripts or archival materials furnished to him.

4. a. Both the owning institution and the publisher must inform purchasers of reproductions that permission to make extensive direct quotations or to print any reproduction in full must be obtained from the owning institution. Every reproduction must bear a clear statement to this effect.

b. Manuscripts must not be published without due regard for common law rights, literary rights, property rights, and libel laws. ■ ■