On Fri, 19 Jan 2001 10:56:07 -0600 Sally Baulch-Rhoden
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
> Since you brought up ITC's copy negative collection, I'd like to ask
> for a clarification of that policy. We happen to be one of those
museums
> that had photographs and artwork copied for the original exhibition in
> 1968. I do not know if we agreed to allow the negatives to be used in
> perpetuity by researchers. I have not found the permissions paperwork
yet, but
> the loan agreements agree that any photography will be for
identification
> only. (In practice, I believe that publishers are told to contact us
if they
> want duplicates made from ITC's library.)
Sally,
I am no longer associated with ITC, so of course I cannot speak for it.
But, my guess is that there was no formal agreement when the original
copy negatives were made in the '60s. If I remember correctly, sometime
in the early '80s (when it had become obvious that everyone was beginning
to value photographs and other graphic forms of intellectual property)
ITC sent a permission request to all lenders/donors for which there was
no paperwork in the files. The form would allow the owner to specify that
the image was either 'public' or 'restricted.' ITC will reproduce public
images for the public without any further paperwork. Restricted images
will be reproduced only after ITC receives written permission from the
owner (this permission must, of course, be provided by the requestor).
The extra time and trouble that this causes the researcher seems to me to
be minuscule compared to the time and trouble of visiting all the other
collections in the state looking for the ones that hold the originals.
That leaves a batch of copy negatives for which there was no response to
the permission form request, despite ITC's vigorous attempt to locate and
follow up with all non-papered owners in the '80s. I don't know how
requests for prints from these negatives are handled, but I imagine that
the staff deals with them on a case-by-case basis, taking into account
what little knowledge it may have of the owner and paying somewhat more
attention to the projected use of the image by the patron. I'm sure the
library staff will be happy to tell you what paperwork they have on TMM
images.
As I said before, I don't see why this system should cause any more
problems than situations where the institution owns the originals.
Cataloguing takes an extra second or two to fill in the public/restricted
field, but after that everything seems to me to be the same. On the up
side, with a copy negative collection, the negative already exists, which
is often not the case with collections of originals. Where no negative
exists for a requested image, the staff has to arrange for one to be made
and then integrate it into the filing system. From the patron's
standpoint this causes both delay and added expense.
> When other museums buy images for our collection, we give them
> permission to use the image for a specific purpose...not blanket
permission to
> put them in the public domain.
This is of course, or should be, standard practice.
> The sticking point isn't copyright, it's access
> to the original. We control access to the original object and the
> copy negative is good for a one-time usage only. I think that the
> same applies for copy prints from individuals.
Agreed, unless the individual owner gives you permission to make the
image public.
> I'm trying
> to extricate the Museum from a similar situation where publishers
> and museums contact the Museum to then ask a private individual for her
> permission to duplicate a copy image at the Museum. It's a real
> pain, but thankfully the owner is a very nice person.
I don't see why you would ever contact the owner--make the potential user
do it.
Happy trails. David
David Haynes [log in to unmask] San Antonio
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