Digital Archival Collections Materials Selection and Rights

Selection of Archival Collections for Digitization

The primary goal of digitization of special collections at Ohio University Libraries is to enhance the research, teaching, and learning value of the collections and to support the long-term preservation and access to said collections for the benefit of OHIO students, faculty, and affiliates. The Libraries’ digitization program is designed to distribute its digital collections widely where appropriate and to bring them to the attention of scholars and students within and beyond OHIO with tools that will enable enhanced and transformative uses in accordance with intellectual property and privacy law. Secondly, digitization furthers collection management goals by finding opportunities to invest in the long-term preservation and access of the Libraries’ most vital and significant collections for current and future generations of OHIO faculty and students.

Libraries’ staff follow established guidelines for the ongoing selection of materials to digitize. These guidelines take into consideration issues such as the significance of the materials, the value and condition of the materials, the actual and anticipated use of the materials, the connection of the materials to research and teaching at OHIO, the relation of the materials to other library holdings, and the rights available to the Libraries as holders of the materials.

The Libraries are opposed to censorship in all forms and strive to collect, digitize, and preserve diverse perspectives in support of education, intellectual freedom, and open dialog on the record of human history.

Copyright, Intellectual Property, and Privacy

The Libraries has applied intellectual property rights management in good faith and to the best of its abilities. We aspire to make rights and restriction information, when known, available in the item record for a digital resource. However, all responsibility for ascertaining copyright permissions falls on the user. In addition to copyright, some materials may be subject to rights of privacy, publicity, or trademark, which is also the responsibility of the user. The  Libraries makes no express or implied warranty to others who wish to use or reproduce items found in its Digital Archival Collections.

Take Down Requests

If you have discovered material in the Libraries’ Digital Archival Collections which you consider to be unlawful e.g., breaches copyright, or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, and/or privacy; or relates to other concerns, please email William Kimok and provide the following information:

1. Your name and contact details.
2. The details of the document or image, including the URL.
3. A statement regarding the nature of your concern.
4. An assertion that your statement is made in good faith and is accurate.
5. If your statement is about breach of your own copyright or other intellectual property right, please also confirm that you are the rights owner or are authorized to act for the rights owner.

The Libraries’ staff will review the request for just cause. Upon determination of just cause, the item or items in question will be removed from public view within the Digital Archival Collections until the request is resolved.

The final outcome of the review of a request to remove items from the Libraries’ Digital Archival Collections may be one of the following:

• The item is not changed and is returned to public view.
• The item is not changed, but access is restricted in some way.
• The item is permanently removed from the Digital Archival Collections.
• The item is changed in some way, such as through redaction, and is returned to public view.
• Another outcome.