Amy, The fact that your donor is dead helps you out a lot. Per the Bono extension act, any unpublished work prior to 1978 gets protection as if it were under the provisions of the 76 Act. This means life of the author plus 70 years. The key is you'll have to determine when the authors died to calculate when the 70 years began to toll. That is unless you want to push a fair use theory. This, of course, assumes that your work was not published or copyrighted. However, none of this is intended as legal advice and I advise you to consult with an attorney before moving forward. (I won't have my license until October unfortunately) I hope that helps. Chris Garmire A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>