I am searching for opinions and points of view about a little dilemma:

Our museum is a small community's history museum, dealing with local
history.  The volunteers here volunteer with every other non-profit in the
community as well.

I have before me a request from a volunteer, in ours and another
institution, to use images of ours in a DVD that another non-profit she
volunteers for will sell in their new shop.  Our image use policy does not
permit use of our images for sale where the profit goes to another
institution.  You might think it would end there, but this is not so simple.

The original donor of the particular images of interest is also the
volunteer who is now making the request to use those images for another
organization. In a big city, perhaps this simply would not matter, the
policy is the policy.  In a small, isolated community, our tendency is to
help one another out.  And, the policy says it is up to the Curator's
discretion to remove image use restraints or reduce fees when appropriate
(the commercial fee I should assess is too much for the small non-profit).
I did tell her I could sell the pictures for a display, but not for
continuous sales to the public. Also, I plan to use two of the images she
has requested in an exhibit in preparation now for the summer season.

The Board feels it is up to me to decide, since they hired me to make such
decisions.  I'm uncomfortable providing images that we sell in our shop (in
the form of a book we have published) to another institution to sell in
their shop.  Yet, we would be willing to sell them the book for resale... .
I also don't want to be the new Big Bad Curator; in fact the volunteer/donor
says she was never told she couldn't use her own pictures again.  If she
signed a Deed of Gift she would have that language, but if you think this
small community organization has a history of doing things by the book,
think again.  Also, the Deeds are not filed alphabetically, so I don't even
know where to begin looking.

I've been avoiding this issue because I have plenty of other ways to spend
my time, but I must face it soon. I'd like to think of a way that this could
be an exception in return for a favor, but I don't know what that favor
would be.  They will be opening their new gift shop for the summer season
next month, so I can't put it off much longer. Any advice?

Micki Ryan, Director
Orcas Island Historical Museum
POB 134, Eastsound WA 98245
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