Special Collections Policies

Special Collections is open to the members of the UB community, visiting scholars and the general public. All materials are housed in environmentally controlled and secure stack areas on and off site, and are made available for use in the Special Collections Reading Room.

All collections are non-circulating and are retrieved for researchers upon request. Some materials are located off site. Requests to view unprocessed or off-site materials require advanced notice. Contact us with your request at least 10 working days prior to your visit.

We encourage you to explore the appropriate Finding Aid or Libraries' Catalog to become familiar with any collection you want to access before your visit.

What to bring

• Your laptop/tablet; we have free Wi-Fi (wireless internet) and electrical outlets for your use
• Current photo identification (e.g. driver's license, campus ID, passport)

What not to bring

Due to the uniqueness of the collection, please do not bring:

• Food or drink
• Pens, though you may use our pencils and paper for taking notes
• Scanners, tripods or camera/video equipment

Registering to use materials

There is a small amount of paperwork to complete before using materials; forms are also available at the Reading Room reference desk.

• Researcher Registration Form
• Reading Room Rules and Terms of Access

• Requests to view unprocessed or off-site materials require advance notice; contact us with your request at least 10 working days prior to your visit
• Submit a materials request form to Special Collections staff and we will retrieve the materials for you
• We do not allow researchers to retrieve materials on their own
• One manuscript box or one folder of photograph files is permitted per table
• All documents must remain in folders in their original order at all times; pull only one folder at a time from the manuscript box
• Materials should not be written upon, marked or altered in any way
• Media equipment may be available for viewing or listening to DVDs, CDs, VHS, and audio cassette; contact us with your request in advance
  

Materials request forms

• Published Materials Request Form
• Manuscript Materials Request Form

Other things to know

• Cell phones and laptops/tablets must be silenced
• All researchers must alert Special Collections staff when leaving the reading room, and must return all requested materials to the reference desk before leaving
• Researchers may be asked to submit for inspection any briefcase, laptop/tablet bag, or any other parcel, book, notebook, or other personal property before leaving the premises
• Some extremely fragile or unprocessed items may have access restrictions; other items may be inaccessible per the donor’s request

Privacy and personally identifiable information

Manuscript collections that include twentieth and twenty-first century archival materials may contain sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state "right to privacy" laws, including but not limited to certain educational, medical, financial, criminal, attorney-client, and personnel records. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals without the consent of those individuals may have legal cause for action if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person.

Staff has taken care to identify and, in some cases, remove Personally Identifiable Information found within its archival collections when undertaking archival processing work. However, privacy protected information may be revealed during use of the archival collections, particularly in those collections that are unprocessed or have been minimally processed.

Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within the archival collections, and further agree not to publish, publicize, or disclose such information to any other party for any purpose if found within the archival collections.

Researchers agree to indemnify and hold harmless the University at Buffalo and its officers, employees, and agents from and against all suits, claims, actions, and expenses arising out of use of archival collections held by the University at Buffalo.

Digital Photos, Photocopying and Scanning

Digital photos

Personal use photographs of materials may be permissible using a cell phone or tablet without flash. Required permissions must be in place in advance. The researcher is responsible for all copyright determinations regarding image use (see copyright statements below). Special Collections management reserve the right to limit reproductions as appropriate.

Reproduction and publication agreements

• University Archives Reproductions of Material for Personal Use Agreement
• University Archives Publication Agreement
• The Poetry Collection Reproductions of Material for Personal Use Agreement
• The Poetry Collection Publication Agreement
• Rare Books Collection Reproductions of Material for Personal Use Agreement
• Rare Books Collection Publication Agreement

Photocopying and scanning

Photocopies or scans will be made only if Special Collections staff determines this will not harm the material. Required permissions must be in place and all applicable fees paid before a photocopy or scanning request is released. The researcher is responsible for all copyright determinations regarding image use (see copyright statements below).

• State or federal law may not permit the reproduction of some material
• Photocopies and scans are made solely for the convenience of the researcher; they cannot be reproduced or transferred to any other person or institution without the prior permission of Special Collections management
• Extensive photocopying may be mailed to the researcher

All researchers, excluding Commercial, may receive 150 low resolution (personal use only) scans/photocopies and 20 high resolution (personal use only) scans per fiscal year (July 1-June 30) before standard rates apply.

*Large format (>11"x17") scan rates will be the same as high resolution scans for personal or publication use.

Payment

Payment may be made by credit card or check

• The Poetry Collection credit card payments
• University Archives credit card payments
• Checks should be made payable to the University Libraries and mailed to either The Poetry Collection or University Archives at 420 Capen Hall, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260.

The Poetry Collection

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], [Collection number], [Collection name], [Collection dates], The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

Rare Books Collection

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], [Collection number], [Collection name], [Collection dates], Rare Books Collection, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

Robert L. Brown History of Medicine

[Description and date of item], Box/folder number, Collection number, [Collection name], [Collection dates], The Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

University Archives

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], [Collection number], [Collection name], [Collection dates], University Archives, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

The Poetry Collection

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors’ heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the Poetry Collection before requesting photocopies and/or publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Once permission is obtained, most papers may be copied in accordance with the library’s usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Rare Books Collection

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors’ heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and Rare Books Collection before requesting photocopies and/or publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Once permission is obtained, most papers may be copied in accordance with the library’s usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Robert L. Brown History of Medicine

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection before requesting photocopies and/or publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Once permission is obtained, most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

University Archives

Copyright of materials produced and/or published by the university are held by the State University of New York at Buffalo. Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors’ heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations or images from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library’s usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

The WATCH list of copyright contacts (https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/Watch) is a useful place to begin searching for the estates of writers and artists.

For more general information about copyright and the public domain, visit http://www.copyright.cornell.edu.

The Poetry Collection, Rare Books Collection, and University Archives (herein after referred to collectively as “Special Collections”) permits photography and videography by visitors of exhibitions and artwork in the Reading Room – unless otherwise noted – using only cell phones or tablets without flash and for private, non-commercial purposes only.

Media capture activities of any kind (photography, videography, sound recording, etc.) by visitors of other visitors and/or staff is prohibited without advance permission from individuals being recorded.

Photography, video camera, and other media capture equipment – professional or otherwise – other than cell phones and tablets is not allowed in the Reading Room without advance written permission from Special Collections management. Any such equipment brought into Special Collections without proper permission will not be allowed to be used or carried throughout the Reading Room. Such equipment must be placed in the storage unit near the reference desk at the front of the Reading Room for the duration of the visit.

Sketching of exhibitions and artwork is permitted in the Reading Room. Visitors may use graphite pencils only. Colored pencils, pens, markers, paint, charcoal, pastels, and other mediums are not permitted.

Photographs, videos, other media captures, and sketches cannot be published, sold, reproduced, transferred, distributed, or otherwise commercially exploited in any manner whatsoever.

Special Collections reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to withhold and/or withdraw permission for any/all media capture activities and sketching on its premises and of objects/artworks in its collections and on display.

Certain objects/artworks, as well as images of those objects/artworks, may be protected by copyright, trademark, or related interests not owned by Special Collections. Responsibility for ascertaining the copyright status of an object/artwork, or whether any such rights exist, is solely with the visitor.

Permission to photograph, record, sketch or otherwise reproduce protected works must be secured in advance from any third-party rights holder(s). Responsibility for securing such permission is solely with the visitor. Special Collections will have no responsibility in connection with securing such necessary permissions as they pertain to visitors’ on-site media-capture/reproduction activities.

Visitors to Special Collections may be photographed, filmed, or otherwise recorded via video or audio by personnel from Special Collections, University Libraries, University Libraries Communications, University Communications, and/or others granted permission to conduct media capture activities on behalf of Special Collections. By entering Special Collections, you grant the University at Buffalo permission to use photographs and/or audiovisual recordings in which you appear for archival, documentary, publicity, advertising, or any other lawful purpose.