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Archives and Special Collections

Making copies and Copyright

Copies of items held in Special Collections can be requested in paper or electronic format and are completed depending on the condition/nature of the item concerned, on copyright restrictions and the size of the order. 

Digital photography of archival material is not normally permitted without prior permission from the copyright holders.

Reproduction or publication in any medium is expressly forbidden without written authorisation. Please see below for further details.

 

Guidelines

Requests for copies of archive material are assessed on a case by case basis. Certain types of material cannot be photocopied or scanned, due to preservation issues:

  • No bound manuscript volumes or archival items made of parchment will be photocopied.
  • No archival items containing a wax seal or use of watercolour pigments will be photocopied.
  • No items larger than A3 will be photocopied (including bound volumes of newspapers and loose maps).
  • No folding plates in books will be photocopied.

Constraints on staff time may restrict the quantity of copying that can be requested, and readers are cautioned that requests for copies cannot usually be completed during the day of their visit.  

Archival copying is done on a case-by-case basis in consultation with senior Special Collections staff and is dependent on copyright restrictions.

Library staff reserve the right to refuse to photocopy materials if they judge that physical damage is likely to be caused to books or documents.

Copying archive materials

Digital photography of archival material is not normally permitted without prior permission from the copyright holders.

Requests for copies of archive material are assessed on a case by case basis.  For copies you must complete the relevant request form based on the type of copying required:

  • Book photocopy request
  • Archive photocopy request
  • Digital image request
  • Self-service photography request

Reproduction or publication in any medium is expressly forbidden without written authorisation. Please see Requests for publication for further details.

‌If you are visiting the reading room it is possible for you to make copies free of charge using your own digital camera. 

All images are made subject to copyright legislation. Please note copies are made for personal research only and on this basis, we would ask you to destroy the copies once your research is completed.  

No self-service digital photography is permitted for items which are in copyright without prior written permission by the copyright holder.  Please note that this restriction includes most archive material held in Special Collections. A Self Service Photography form must be completed before any images may be taken.

Reproduction or publication in any medium is expressly forbidden without written authorisation.

Supplied Images

Digital images of items held in the collections are supplied strictly for private research for a non-commercial purpose, on completion of the relevant digital request form.  

Requests will normally be supplied as JPEG or TIFF files via a secure OneDrive link.

Copying is carried out in accordance with the Special Collections Reprographics' Policy, which takes into account staff availability, preservation needs and copyright legislation. 

Reproduction or publication in any medium is expressly forbidden without written authorisation.

A minimum charge of £10 will be made for supplied images. Payment can be made online via debit/credit card. Please see our digital image charges below for further details.

Supplied Images

Copying is carried out in accordance with the Special Collections Reprographics' Policy, which takes into account staff availability, preservation needs and copyright legislation. 

Reproduction or publication in any medium is expressly forbidden without written authorisation.

Certain types of material cannot be photocopied or scanned, due to preservation issues:

  • No bound manuscript volumes or archival items made of parchment will be photocopied.
  • No archival items containing a wax seal or use of watercolour pigments will be photocopied.
  • No items larger than A3 will be photocopied (including bound volumes of newspapers and loose maps).
  • No folding plates in books will photocopied.

Constraints on staff time may restrict the quantity of copying that can be requested, and readers are cautioned that requests for copies cannot usually be completed during the day of their visit.  

Book photocopies for external readers can be posted out on completion, or collected in person. 

Archival copying is done on a case-by-case basis in consultation with senior Special Collections staff and is dependent on copyright restrictions.

Library staff reserve the right to refuse to photocopy materials if they judge that physical damage is likely to be caused to books or documents.

Charges

We charge a minimum of £10 for all copy requests. Please contact Special Collections staff for a quote. Postal charges for photocopies may also apply. Please see the prices below for guidance:

  • Archives: £10 minimum charge per request. 30p per A4 or A3 photocopy 
  • Books: £10 minimum charge per request. 10p per A4 copy; 20p per A3 photocopy
  • Digital images: £10 minimum charge per request. Please see our Digital image charges below for more details

VAT will be charged at the standard rate for copy requests made by staff, students and external researchers. For researchers overseas individuals are charged VAT at the standard rate, commercial companies are not charged VAT.

Payment is made by prior arrangement with Special Collections; please contact staff for a quote. Payment can be made online via debit/credit card - you will be sent a link to a secure payment page in our online store. 

Once your payment has been made via the online store we will receive automatic payment notification and your copies will be sent to you. Digital copies will be sent via a secure OneDrive link (or a secure alternative for those without OneDrive access). Physical copies are posted via Royal Mail Signed For 1st Class service (signature on delivery and next-day delivery aim) or can be collected in person from our Reading Room by prior arrangement. 

Requests for publication

Many of our collections - or items contained within them - are in copyright and and are subject to restrictions.  

We are not permitted to provide copies of any material in copyright for a commercial purpose without the written permission of the copyright owner and we will advise you if this is the case. 

All requests for copies from collections thus protected must be accompanied with written permission from the copyright owner in advance. This particularly applies to certain modern archive collections. Please forward written permission to libspc@exeter.ac.uk

Written consent for publication must be obtained from the Library in addition to the consent of the copyright owner. Please submit the form below to request permission from the Library to publish from our collections.

It is your responsibility to trace the copyright owner and provide proof of permission for the copies to be made.  The WATCH database at http://tyler.hrc.utexas.edu/ may be able to assist you in finding the copyright owner. Further advice on UK copyright is available from The National Archives.

Requests for publication, display - and in the case of some archival items, quotation - must be obtained jointly from the copyright holder and from the Library. All reproductions must be acknowledged  in the published work.  There may be further requirements if items are to be reproduced in publications, including the charging of fees.

All applications to publish items from the collections must be made in writing. The permission of the Library as owner/place of deposit will be required before publication. In some cases, the Library's agreement will be dependent on written evidence of additional permission from the copyright holder. Applications to publish can be made by letter or by completing this form.

Fees are likely to be payable to the University Library for images which are to appear in publications, or for extracts from unpublished manuscripts which are to be quoted. In some cases, a literary executor or agent will expect a fee for reproduction as well.

Payment is made by prior arrangement with Special Collections and can be paid online via debit/credit card.

Copying decisions are made by Special Collections staff on a case-by-case basis

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