Hear, hear!  I second that emotion!

It is one thing to make the occasional exception for other non-profits as a
gesture of good will, but profit-making ventures that whine about paying a
fee for use of museum/archive collections don't deserve an ounce of sympathy.

One important point to note is that you absolutely MUST NOT sign away
indefinite and/or un-specific rights to use the collection images.  (Many
museums signed away reproduction rights early in the CD-ROM era, and now have
little recourse in recouping lost revenues.)  You should think about charging
a royalty fee in addition to your standard publication fee so that you can
earn something for every CD sold.  This is important in that it is extremely
easy to churn out hundreds of thousands of CDs above and beyond an initial
run.

Non-profit does not mean having to play dumb and roll over for everyone with
a sob story.  Why is it that we are made to feel guilty about trying to earn
our pittance to buy a few Mylar envelopes?  I, for one, have overcome this
sorry state and am totally guilt-free.  (Here's hoping the museums follow
suit!)

Melanie Solomon
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Robert MacKimmie wrote:
<<CD-ROM technology may be glitzy, fun technology but it is a
publishing medium just the same, so similar use fees should apply.
One thing about the publishing industry is that you will witness
"song and dance" justifications about why you shouldn't charge use
fees.
<<
<<When the archive community, at large, responds uniformly in an
affirmative and rightfully "standing our ground" way, they will cease
to "pull the wool over." I've heard many wildly spun justifications
during my years doing photo rights and reproduction.
<<
<<Cheers, and hold the high ground.>>