Adrienne-
I'm wondering if you came into this thread a little late. You seem to be
responding to my posts as if it were my organization that was considering
this. If I'm wrong, I humbly apologize.
Here's the original. Again, pardon me if I misjudged your responses.
>Hi
I am the director of an extensive archival collection that is currently
99.9% unprocessed. A researcher is interested in paying to have a collection
of newspapers microfilmed and the historical society would keep a copy and
he would keep a copy.
Is this a good policy? Anyone with experience like this? The papers are
deteriorating. Thanks in advance for any response.
Maria Sanchez
>cfisteel.org
I visited the website of Maria's organization http://www.cfisteel.org
Check it out and you can see how this situation may have arisen. They seem
to brand new and at the beginning of a 10 year organizational and
processing project.They need to raise funds to get it moving and keep it
moving and someone has come along and offered to pay for some microfilming
in exchange for a copy of the film.
Look at their dilemma. They are just beginning to organize and process what
seems to be a very substantial collection. They need funding to do what they
envision. Someone who wants to work with part of the collection is willing
to pay for microfilming of that portion in exchange for a copy, ostensibly
so they can work at their leisure. Perhaps they are not local to Maria's
institution?
It could be nothing more than equivalent of someone wanting photocopies. In
this case, however, what they want copies of is essentially an entire
collection. (more or less) How many institutions allow copying for patrons
of an entire collection? Sort of the old "spend me everything you have on
(filling the blank)"
Now add to this equation Maria's situation. According to their website, they
are less than three years old and may still be in the process of a) securing
their facilities and b) securing the ownership of the collection itself.
So they may not yet have their full facilities and they may not yet own the
collection, and they have an immediate need for funding to accomplish their
goals.
A researcher now wants access to part of the collection. Newspapers. Maria
doesn't say how many or what their significance is. Are they local papers or
a company paper. If it's a company paper, that would be an integral part of
the collection. Local papers may be a more peripheral part of the collection
as they would not be a direct documentation of the company.
If the newspapers are local newspapers, well maybe it wouldn't be such a
terrible idea to take up the researcher's offer to pay for filming in
exchange for a copy. But it would seem odd that a researcher would be so
eager to have access to a local paper in the collections of an historical
society dedicated to a steel company? Would not a state, county or local
historical society be more likely to have the local newspapers?
Perhaps the newspaper is a company paper. The society's website has a small
photo gallery that has an image of the front page of what appears to be a
company newspaper- "Camp and Plant."
Then you have a case where someone wants access to an integral part of a
collection that they may not officially own yet, and which could well be a
very rare record. From a cruise through society's website, it doesn't seem
like Maria's institution has much to offer the public yet outside of a few
public programs. This researcher, if their offer is accepted, would get
access to a part of the collection before it's made available to the general
public, and get a copy for their very own to potentially do with it what
they will.
If they do accept this offer, they should certainly include language
limiting what this individual can do with his/her copy. They don't want to
be giving up rights to part of the collection before the collection has even
been offered to the full public for research. They shouldn't want to be
giving up rights to the collection at all if they can help it.
This is not a typical benefactor who is happy to pay for the project because
he or she believes in it and wants to support it.
This sounds like someone who wants to get some value back for his/her
generosity.
Does anyone see a tax disadvantage to this situation? "Donor" wants to pay
for microfilming: about $10,000 hypothetical.
As a gift, that would be a $10,000 write-off. No?
But if they want a copy in return, would that still even be considered a
gift? Seems to me it might be considered akin to paying for photocopies or
better yet, a reproduction of a photograph. "I want this done and I'm
willing to pay to have it done. And, by the way, I'll let you have a copy
too."
Seems similar to the photo reproduction policies most places have: you pay
the actual cost of the duplication and maybe a small fee on top of that. You
get your copy and the institution, surprise, gets a service negative from
which to make future copies. (Someone tell me I'm wrong.)
Maria and her board must consider this very carefully.
There should be plenty of alternative funding opportunities for a project
like this.
By the way Maria, best of luck with your society's very ambitious 10 year
plan. Sounds like it's going to be a really great place. Almost makes me
want to think about moving west!
Sincerely,
Scott D. Peters
Research Director/Archivist
Ocean County Historical Society
26 Hadley Ave., P.O. Box 2191
Toms River, NJ 08754-2191
(732) 341-1880
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
"Telling the Stories of Ocean County"
Historically Speaking
ALHFAM -FPIPN vice-chair for trivia, errata and miscellany
[log in to unmask]
"The ordinary distinctions in society are often vague, and imply no just
pre-eminence: rank and titles are
adventitious things and instead of designating merit or virtue, are
frequently the baubles of imbecility, or
the sparkling decorations of meretricious pageantry"
William Griffith, on behalf, and by order of the New-Jersey Society for
promoting the gradual Abolition
of Slavery, Twelfth Month (December) 20th, 1803
----- Original Message -----
From: "Adrienne DeAngelis" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 11:13 PM
Subject: Re: Microfilm Copying
> Hello again--
> But surely you can get your nice patron to agree in writing NOT to
> sell copies of his copy, in any form, without your permission? Are you
> really so much at the mercy of this person? If so, might there be funding
> from anywhere else available? Have you thought of going in with some other
> collections and apply together for some sort of educational grant? (NEH,
> perhaps?) Why not call around Rutgers University for help and/or
> inspiration? They were involved in similar projects some years
> ago--whether they still are and whether your holdings would be in their
> area of interest I don't know. It's almost a local call!
>
> Adrienne DeAngelis
> [log in to unmask]
>
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