Use of Digital Cameras

The following policy is designed to assist readers with note-taking by permitting limited use of digital cameras in the Carol K. Pforzheimer Reading Room.

Photographs must be for study purposes only and cannot be reproduced, transferred, or published.

Use of digital cameras is subject, but not limited to, the following conditions:

• The library reserves the right to refuse permission when such photography would cause injury to library holdings, or when copyright and/or donor restrictions prohibit duplication.
• All material must be examined by the desk attendant and evaluated for physical condition, copyright issues, and donor restrictions before approval will be given.
• The use of flash or other artificial light is prohibited. Audible features on the camera must be turned off.
• No copy stands, tripods or other photographic equipment are allowed.
• Materials must be handled properly and with great care:
• Bound volumes must be supported in a book cradle; no pressure can be applied to the bindings.
• Manuscript material must remain in its folder and kept in order at all times. Documents must be kept flat on the table. If material is stapled, please see desk attendant before proceeding.
• No more than 20% of any manuscript collection can be photographed.
• Any item photographed will be for study purposes only and will not be reproduced, transferred, or published. Images for publication must be ordered through the library.
• For manuscript/archival collections, a Schlesinger Library template must be photographed with each item.
• It is the responsibility of each reader to record proper citation information for each item photographed.

The Copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. The user agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Schlesinger Library, the Radcliffe Institute, and the President and Fellows of Harvard College against all claims, demands, costs and expenses incurred by copyright infringement or any other legal or regulatory cause of action arising from the use of the Library's materials.