PERSONAL CAMERA USE POLICY

The Southern Historical Collection, the Southern Folklife Collection, and the University Archives and Records Management Services permits researchers to personally photograph unrestricted manuscript materials under the following terms and conditions:

• Researchers will adhere to the restrictions that govern the research use of a specific collection.
• Only hand-held portable cameras will be allowed; staff may permit the use of a table-top tripod.
• No outside lights (including flash) will be allowed in the search room.
• Researchers will not disturb other patrons, place themselves or others in jeopardy, or take any extraordinary measures, such as standing on furniture, to get the "best" shot.
• Researchers will abide by the handling procedures as outlined in the researcher agreement. Researchers will not place the documents in peril or take extraordinary means to stabilize the document in an effort to get the "best" shot.
• Researchers will fill out an Agreement For Use of Camera for every unrestricted collection they wish to photograph.
• Images will not be added to the holdings of another library or archival repository.
• Researchers who require high-quality, digital images for publication or broadcast should contact Research and Instructional Services staff to make special arrangements.
• Scanners and other imaging equipment will not be permitted in the search room.
• The Collection reserve the right to prohibit the photographing of any of its holdings at the staff's discretion.

U.S. Copyright law governs the making and use of most photocopies and other reproductions of copyrighted materials. Most manuscripts, sound recordings, photographs and moving images created in the past 120 years are protected under copyright law. Transmission, reproduction, publication, or presentation (public display, performance, Internet presentation) of protected items require the permission of the copyright owners. For more information on copyright, contact the U.S. Copyright Office (http://www.loc.gov/copyright/). Copyright status and information on copyright holders can be difficult to determine for archival and manuscript collections. The responsibility for obtaining permissions rests with the researcher.

Manuscript collections and archival records that include twentieth and twenty-first century materials may contain sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. Section 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. Section 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.