Guidelines for Access and Use

This guide is designed to facilitate your successful visit to the archives and highlight use and care expectations for the collections at The Gotlieb Center.

• The Gotlieb Center Reading Room Research is by appointment. To schedule an appointment, please submit a request form, or email archives@bu.edu.
• All visitors to the reading room agree to abide by the Boston University Libraries Code of Conduct. Personal items, such as bags, briefcases, coats, folders, etc. will be secured in a locked cabinet.
• Food and drinks, including water can be enjoyed outside of the reading room. The reading room is a food and drink-free zone to avoid damage to archival materials.
• Notebooks, books, and similar materials are permitted and are subject to examination by staff upon your entrance and prior to exit.
• Only pencils may be used for taking notes; pens, markers and other permanent forms of writing implements can damage archival materials and are not permitted in the reading room.
• Laptop computers, tablet devices, and silenced mobile phones are permitted.
• Phone calls can be taken in the outer lobby of the Gotlieb Center.
• The reading room is monitored by security cameras and staff.
• For preservation purposes, each visitor is asked to wash hands and dry them before handling archival material. Library staff will supply gloves for you to use when handling photographs and fragile materials.
• Only one box of material may be open and on the table at any time.
• Only one folder may be taken from each box at a time with original order of folders maintained.

Photography of Archival Material

• Researchers may use non-professional cameras or cellphones to photograph materials for personal use in research. In some cases, copyright law or other restrictions may prohibit the use of cameras.
• Researchers must turn off their flash and silence any camera sounds.
• Professional video equipment is not allowed in the reading room. Cameras are not provided for researchers. No flatbed scanners may be used.
• Material being photographed must stay flat on the table. Items may not be held in the air, put on the floor, folded, removed from protective sleeves, or have fasteners removed. Do not press down on materials or bound volumes; book cradles will be provided. Loose materials must stay in their folder and in order at all times.
• No photography of the reading room, other researchers, or staff is allowed.
• Researchers are responsible for including the Gotlieb Center citation/copyright template in each shot with each page or item; every image must bear the template.
• Requests for high-resolution images can be placed with archival staff.

Publishing & Permissions

• Researchers are solely responsible for securing any applicable rights and permissions from any designated copyright holders prior to publication in any format. Please be aware that while the Gotlieb Center is the repository of the material, in most cases we do not hold the copyright or intellectual property rights to that material.
• In allowing researcher access to archival collections, Boston University does not surrender its own rights to the material (if any), nor does Boston University assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright laws or of publication rights for the manuscript held by the donor; the donor’s heirs; or the donor’s executors or assignees.
• NOTICE concerning copyright restrictions: Except in limited cases, the Gotlieb Center does not hold copyright to its materials and cannot grant copyright permission. Accordingly, researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of any materials they wish to use and obtaining any needed permission for their intended use. If the material is copyrighted, permission to publish materials which do not qualify as “fair use” under the copyright law of the U.S. (Title 17, US Code) should be sought from the copyright owner, typically the creator or the heirs to the creator’s estate. Researchers are solely responsible for determining whether their use of the materials constitutes a fair use. Researchers agree to defend and hold harmless Trustees of Boston University, its trustees, officers, employees and agents against all claims, demands, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from or relating to their use of the Gotlieb Center materials in violation of the terms of this agreement including claims of copyright infringement, defamation, libel, or invasion of privacy.
• Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17): 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 or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a patron makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that patron may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Acknowledgement

In all cases of publication or use, the document(s) or photograph(s) shall be cited as follows:

[Author]. [Title or description of document]. [Date]. [Full collection name], [collection identifier], box [X], folder [X]. Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University Libraries. [Date accessed].