UGA Libraries Special Collections Materials Use Policy

There are three special collections departments at the University of Georgia Libraries. They are Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies (Russell), Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Hargrett), and the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection (Brown). These three libraries regulate the use of materials in their respective collections. Policies governing access, duplication, publication, or use in some other way of these materials are established by the respective Directors of these departments. These policies balance the needs of patrons, donors, the exclusive rights of copyright holders, and the departments' own rights and responsibilities in regard to the care and use of their collections.

New Patron Registration

Welcome to the Brown, Hargrett and Russell collections. In order to provide an environment conducive to research, to preserve the collections, and to ensure ongoing access to them, patrons are expected to respect the rules and regulations concerning use of all materials and property contained in these collections. Please read the two documents below and signify your acceptance of the three units' policies and regulations by clicking on the button at the bottom of this page.

Access
Patrons working onsite must show current photo identification. The Russell, Hargrett, and Brown grant all patrons equal access to their collections, subject to uniformly enforced restrictions placed on materials by donor or purchase stipulation, statutory authority, or by any of the three departments for preservation, processing, or other administrative purposes. The Libraries may require users of high school age or younger to be accompanied by an adult.

Duplication
The Libraries consider requests for limited reproduction of material when such duplication can be done without injury to the material and when duplication does not violate donor agreements or copyright law. The Libraries' staff conducts all duplication, and scanning, and fees are assessed on a cost-recovery basis. Rush orders are accepted at the Libraries' discretion and may be subject to additional charges. The Libraries may prohibit duplication of works in their entirety, such as complete oral histories, manuscripts, or publications, or moving image or audio recordings.

Patrons planning to use large quantities of materials should plan to conduct research onsite. Duplication services are provided as a courtesy to researchers, and should not be considered a substitute for note taking. The Libraries may refuse high-volume duplication requests if they exceed the staff time available for completing patron orders. No materials may be duplicated that have had copying restrictions placed on them by the copyright holder, purchase agreements, donor or deposit agreements or by the Libraries themselves for preservation, processing, confidentiality, or other essential purposes.

Generally, the three libraries provide research copies exclusively for personal study and scholarship, unless permission to publish or for use in some other way is granted specifically by the Libraries. Examples of personal study include: non-profit educational purposes (such as class papers, research, classroom use by a teacher); or for purposes such as criticism, comment, and news reporting. Copies in any format may not be further reproduced, sold, shared, or given to another person, company, or institution for any purpose without the written permission of the library from which the patron has obtained a research copy.

Publication or other use
Patrons who wish to use original materials or images or audiovisual materials from the Hargrett, Russell or Brown collections for purposes beyond personal study must complete and submit the appropriate request to publish form. Examples of publication or other use include: reproduction of images or text in a print or electronic publication; use of library materials in Web sites, blogs, or other electronic venues; use of library materials in audio-visual presentations, documentaries, films, television programs, etc.; use of library materials in public performances; use of library materials in commercial educational products; use of library materials in public exhibits or displays; and other uses of library materials in public settings. A representative from the department that holds the material requested for publication will review the request and make a determination regarding permission and fees. Patrons also must obtain any necessary permission from the copyright holder, which in some instances may be the owning library. Patrons with questions about copyright liability should seek legal counsel. Providing appropriate attribution (citation or credit) within the publication or other use is generally a condition of use permission.

Independent of any fees that may be assessed by a copyright holder, it is the policy of the Russell, Hargrett and Brown to assess a fee for some uses of materials from their respective collections. Such fees are intended to offset a small part of these departments' costs for processing, preservation, and servicing of their collections. Fees for the use of images are determined by the use, print run and distribution of the intended publication. The Libraries also reserve the right to assess a fee to quote from or publish manuscripts when use is deemed to be significant or extensive. Fees for the use of manuscripts are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. A complete copy of any publication (in any medium) that makes use of any of the three departments' materials must be provided to the owning department. Fees for use in audiovisual productions are assessed using a fee schedule available from Brown or Russell.

PATRONS WILL DEFEND, INDEMNIFY, AND HOLD HARMLESS the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Award Collection, the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies , and the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library as well as the University of Georgia, ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS AGAINST ALL CLAIMS, DEMANDS, COSTS, AND EXPENSES INCLUDING ATTORNEYS' FEES INCURRED BY COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL OR REGULATORY CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING FROM THE USE OF Hargrett, Russell, and Brown materials.

1. The Montgomery Reading Room, Russell Research Room, and the Brown Media Viewing Rooms are for use by patrons using materials from the three special collections departments. Each department may require users 15 years of age or younger to be accompanied by an adult.

2. To protect rare and valuable items, the Russell, Hargrett and Brown do not allow original materials to circulate outside designated reference rooms.

3. Patrons must present a current photographic ID issued by a government agency or educational institution the first time that they visit.

4. Lockers are provided for personal possessions. To protect materials in the three departments' collections, the following items are not permitted in the research areas:

• - personal or other outside books
• - tobacco in all forms
• - food
• - chewing gum
• - beverages
• - cameras (unless specific permission granted)
• - electronic scanners
• - coats
• - hats
• - purses
• - bags
• - briefcases
• - backpacks
• - pens or highlighters

5. Only pencils may be taken into the reference rooms. Paper will be provided. Laptop computers removed from their cases are permitted.

6. Patrons are allowed to have up to one box of archival material, or one transcript, or book (from a collection) on their desk at a time.

7. The patron must accept the responsibility of handling carefully all materials made available. Manuscripts and books may not be leaned on, written on, folded, traced over, or handled in any way that may damage them. For certain materials it may be necessary to wear gloves to be supplied by the library. Manuscripts and archival materials are to be maintained in the order in which they are received by the researcher. If any material is discovered to be out of order, please notify the staff member on duty. Do not rearrange papers. Please observe the instructions about careful handling of materials explained by library staff. Copies of these directives are available on each desk.

8. Each patron is personally responsible for all items checked out and must return them to the circulation desk before leaving. Materials may not be transferred to another user.

9. Upon request, materials may be held on reserve for a limited time. If it is necessary to leave the reading room temporarily, patrons must arrange with the attendant on duty either to reserve the materials for their return or leave the materials on their table. Replace all materials having containers into their proper place, close all containers and volumes, and notify the attendant immediately upon return to resume use of the materials.

10. All photoduplication of paper materials is carried out by Libraries staff. Additional information concerning photoduplication policies is available in the Materials Use Policy.

11. No materials will be paged and photocopies will not be made during the last half hour of the working day. All items must be turned in to the desk at least fifteen minutes before closing.