There has been much on the discussion list about copyrights of images, but I am wondering if any one can point me to some resources related to publication rights of archival material in an organization's collection, such as transcription of Civil War letters and their subsequent publication.   So not an image of the handwritten letter, but its content.  Is that copyrightable material?  If a "scholar" does the transcribing, can the institution still retain copyrights, or should they?  If the material is made available for use in say a classroom situation, does that preclude any rights for publication?  As a public institution, do we have an obligation to make the material available free and clear? Does it make a different if the handwritten letters are used in whole, or just quoted?  Included with other background material or stand alone?
 
I would appreciate any comments or suggestions from people at organizations with experience in this type of thing.
 
Ella Aderman
Site Supervisor
Pennypacker Mills


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