Western History Collections Policies

This policy provides guidelines for using the Western History Collections. Refer to this policy for details on visiting the space, accessing and handling the materials, personal digitization, reproduction policies and fees, proper citation, and copyright restrictions.

Reading Room Policies

The policies below apply to all visitors to the Western History Collections.

Backpacks, tote bags, briefcases, jackets, and other personal belongings larger than a small purse must be kept in the designated bag area. Anyone shall, on request, present for inspection upon leaving the reading room any package, envelope, or other article that could contain materials furnished for research.
Food and drinks in secure containers must be kept in the designated area.
Cell phones must be on silent. Please turn off all sounds, such as notifications or media if not wearing headphones, and take all phone calls outside the reading room.
Activities that are disruptive to others, such as talking loudly, are prohibited.
Pencils and personal electronic devices, including laptops, tablets, and cell phones, may be used for note taking while working with collection materials.
Pens are not permitted around collections materials.
All collection materials, including books, must remain in the Western History Collections reading room.
Anyone using collections material, including books in publicly accessible spaces, is responsible for appropriately handling the materials until they are returned to a staff member.
Service animals are allowed in the facilities. Please contact us for accommodations.

Material Access and Handling

Accessing Materials

Requesting Materials: Please see the Research Services page for information about requesting materials. All materials must be requested before your appointment. Please discuss any additional materials you may need during your visit with a staff member.

Access: For the protection of its holdings, the Western History Collections reserves the right to restrict access to materials. Reasons for restrictions can include documents and books that are valuable or fragile, materials that are unprocessed, and materials restricted by donor agreement. This list is not exhaustive, and access to any material is subject to curatorial staff approval.

Retrieval: Visitors and researchers are not permitted in collections’ storage areas. All materials will be retrieved by staff.

Handling Materials

Researchers should use one box at a time and one folder at a time. This includes when materials are provided on a cart.
Researchers must keep all unbound materials in the order in which they are delivered and filed. If materials within a box or folder appear to be ordered incorrectly, researchers should notify a staff member immediately.
Collection materials shall not be written on, leaned on, folded anew, traced, fastened with rubber bands or metal paper clips, or handled in any other way likely to cause damage.
Researchers should have clean hands when using collection materials.
Gloves are only required for handling photographs.
Sticky notes may not be attached to collection materials.
Researchers are expected to exercise all possible care to prevent damage and to notify a staff member should damage of any kind occur to any materials. Under no circumstances should a researcher attempt to repair the damage.
Researchers are expected to follow all instructions when using sound recordings and equipment to avoid damaging the materials and equipment.
Researchers are expected to follow any additional handling requirements staff provide based on the value or condition of the item.

Personal Digitization Equipment

Cell Phone/Tablet/Cameras: Cameras are permitted for the photographing of materials at the Western History Collections. Flash photography is prohibited. Please silence personal electronic devices to turn off device camera sounds.

Flatbed/Handheld/Feeder Scanners: Any equipment that touches collection materials, such as feeder, flatbed, and handheld scanners, is not permitted.

Overhead Scanners: Scanners that do not touch materials, such as overhead scanners, are permitted for scanning materials.

Citing Materials

Researchers are responsible for recording their own citations for all materials used, copied, and photographed.

Photograph collection recommended citation: Collection Name, Image Number, Western History Collections, Special Research Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries, Norman, Oklahoma.

Manuscript materials recommended citation: Collection Name, Box #, Folder #, Western History Collections, Special Research Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries, Norman, Oklahoma.

Reproduction Policies and Fees

These policies provide guidelines for the reproduction of collection materials from the Western History Collections. This includes general reproduction request policies, reproduction request fees, user responsibilities when using reproductions, and copyright restrictions.

The Western History Collections reserves the right to change these policies at any time without prior notice.

General Reproduction Request Policies

The Western History Collections can provide in-person and distance researchers copies of materials. Please see the Research Services page for how to request copies.

The Western History Collections:

Reserves the right to limit or deny copy requests of rare or fragile materials.
Does not provide copies for requests over 200 pages. You will be connected with a local researcher-for-hire if your request exceeds 200 pages.
Provides paper copies for in-person researchers only. These can be picked up a week after the order is placed.
Accepts in-person reproduction requests up to 30 minutes before the end of an appointment.
Provides digital files for onsite and distance user requests and delivers files via email or through a file sharing platform.
Requires file size and format be specified when a reproduction request is submitted, if applicable.
Requires prepayment (after receiving an invoice) as outlined in the fee schedule, and all sales are final.
Does not accept credit cards.
Does not accept requests for copies of collections materials exceeding 40 pages through interlibrary loan.

Reproduction Fees and Formats

Requests for 40 pages or less: no charge
Requests for existing digitized content: no charge
Requests for 41-200 pages: 25 cents per page
Requests for 1-5 image files (jpeg or tiff): no charge
Requests for 6 or more image files (jpeg or tiff): $10/hour (average is 5 scans/hour)

Formats We Can Reproduce:

Paper-based: 8 1/2" x 11" or 8 1/2" x 14"
Photographic prints, negatives, and slides: up to 11”x14”
Larger formats will be sent to our Digitization Lab. Note: There is typically a longer waiting period for larger format reproduction requests.
Audiovisual materials: All requests for audiovisual material will be outsourced, and we cannot predetermine how long it will take to complete these requests.

Formats We Provide:

PDFs scanned at 200 dpi
Image formats: jpeg or tiff files
DPI levels: 300 or 600 dpi

Using Western History Collections Materials

Use of certain published materials and manuscripts is restricted by law or by reason of their origin.
Permission may be granted upon request for use of photographs for publication, exhibition, or other purpose if the proposed use is specified. Restrictions have been placed on some collections by the donors.
The Western History Collections provides reproductions for research, scholarship, and study purposes only. Reproductions of materials from the Western History Collections may not be deposited or placed on file in any other repository without permission and proper crediting, except for tribal repositories when the materials originate from that community.
The University of Oklahoma is not responsible for any illegal or improper use of these materials.
The researcher is responsible for crediting the Western History Collections for any materials used.
The researcher is responsible for determining the copyright status of any materials used.
Permission to publish must be secured from the rights holders. Responsibility for determining the rights holders and adhering to copyright law rests with the researcher.

Copyright Restrictions on Reproductions

Published and unpublished materials may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Materials in the Public Domain

No laws restrict copying of public domain materials. However, the Western History Collections reserves the right to limit or deny copying to protect materials which might be physically harmed by such copying.

Fair Use

Only two chapters per book or two articles per journal issue may be copied, or 20 percent of a book or journal volume, not to exceed 50 pages (whichever comes first). This only pertains to copyrighted materials.
Only 20 percent of a musical score may be copied if that portion copied does not comprise of a performable unit of work.
Only 20 percent of an unpublished manuscript may be copied. · No portion of a work intended by the publisher to be consumed by the original user may be copied (e.g., workbooks, etc.).
No portion of a work intended by the publisher to be consumed by the original user may be copied (e.g., workbooks, etc.).

Notice: Warning Concerning Copyright Restrictions

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 copy of 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 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. 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.