ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Draft Statement on the Reproduction of Manuscripts And Archives for Noncommercial Purposes*

The following statement will be considered for approval by the Association of College and Research Libraries at the Midwinter Meeting in Chicago, 1974. All comments and suggestions for revision should be sent to Ruth Salisbury, Chairman of the ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, 4338 Bigelow Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, or to Beverly P. Lynch, Executive Secretary, ACRL, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, 1L 60611.

1. It is the responsibility of a library, archives, or manuscript repository to assist qualified researchers, as defined by the respective institutions, by making or having made reproductions of any material in its possession, subject to certain conditions.

Manuscript and archival materials may be reproduced if:

a. the condition of the originals will permit such reproduction

b. the originals have no gift, purchase, or legal restrictions on reproduction

c. the holders of appropriate common law or statutory rights have given their written approval to said reproductions.

2. All conditions relating to use of manuscript or archival materials shall apply to reproductions.

3. No repository shall be required to reproduce a complete manuscript collection or archival record group or extensive portions therefrom, the limitation to be set by the owning repository. The repository may, by a special agreement, do so for the mutual advantage of individuals and other institutions and may offer such copies for sale on its own behalf.

4. The price of reproductions shall be set by the repository, which should endeavor to keep charges to a minimum.

5. Copies should be made for the use of individual researchers and educational institutions as follows:

a. Repositories which permit their manuscript and archival collections to be reproduced in whole or part must specify before the copies are made what restrictions if any have been placed on the use of the copies. Purchasers must abide by these restrictions.

b. All reproductions must identify the source of the original manuscript collection or archival record group.

c. Copies of reproductions should not be made for a third party by the owner of a reproduction without the written permission of the repository owning the originals.

6. The repository must inform the researcher that permission to make extensive direct quotation from or to print in full any reproduction must be obtained from the institution owning the originals. In the case of material under copyright, the right to quote or print must also be obtained by the researcher from the copyright owner. Manuscripts cannot be used for publication without due regard for common law rights, literary rights, property rights, and libel laws. The researcher assumes legal responsibility for observing these rights. A repository should, to the best of its ability, inform the researcher about known retention of literary rights.