While other institutions may have given you permission to microfilm
their documents for

your project, that probably did not convey copyright to you for wider
dissemination.    I've

found the copyright law helpful if I want to digitize existing film as
libraries can make

preservation copies of material and migrate material in their
collections.   But I cannot

place the resulting images online unless I have the copyright owner's
permission since

internet open access is viewed as the equivalent of publishing.

 

Your comment on national and international access leads me to believe
you

want to place these digital images online (internet) for access by
anyone.   You may

need to check on the copyright and ownership of these materials.   If
they include

materials from foreign governments (British records, etc.), the
copyright laws will

be different.

 

Dean

 

Dean DeBolt

University Librarian, Special Collections

John C. Pace Library, University of West Florida

11000 University Parkway

Pensacola, FL  32514-5750

850-474-2213

[log in to unmask]

 

________________________________

From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Jeremy Linden
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 9:04 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Digitization of microforms

 

Dear All,

 

Questions regarding a microforms digitization project:

 

20+ years ago we secured grant funding to microfilm and microfiche a
large collection of land company records - some of which we own, others
came from a number of institutions, both in the region and
internationally.  Our desire is to begin digitizing that material from
the microfilm and microfiche, both to provide broader access given the
national and international scale of our researchers, and to alleviate
some of the pressure on our ability to provide in-house access.

 

The original documents are not covered by copyright; that shouldn't be a
concern.  The microfilming was our project - so the copyright of the
format shouldn't be a problem.  What other concerns do I need to keep in
mind?  I'm not sure how ownership of the physical objects plays into
this.  Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Jeremy

 

*************

Jeremy R. Linden

Head of Archives and Special Collections

Daniel A. Reed Library

SUNY Fredonia

Fredonia, NY 14063

[log in to unmask]

716-673-3183

716-673-3185 FAX

 

 

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