UNLV Special Collections provides copies of materials to facilitate private study, scholarship, or research. We welcome you to use materials in our collections that are in the public domain and to make fair use of copyrighted materials as defined by copyright law. Please review how to cite our materials.
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17 United States Code) governs the making of reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a researcher uses a reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that researcher may be liable for copyright infringement.
Request to reproduce items
Requests to copy Special Collections & Archives material constitute an agreement that you will not reproduce, transfer, distribute, broadcast, publicly display, offer for sale, or otherwise use or publish any material subject to copyright, or a portion thereof, in excess of fair use, as defined by copyright law, without the express permission of the copyright holder (PDF).
Please note that while the UNLV Special Collections & Archives owns the materials in our collections, we usually do not own the copyright to these materials, except where it has been explicitly transferred to UNLV. You are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of materials and obtaining permission to use material from the copyright holder. Special Collections & Archives can not provide permission to publish or distribute materials when UNLV is not the copyright holder.
We reserve the right to limit the number of copies made; to restrict the use of rare and valuable items; and to deny a request because of copyright regulations, privacy rights, donor-imposed regulations, or other rights related issues.
Reproduction request form
Please fill out and sign this reproduction request form completely and submit it to special.collections@unlv.edu.
- Reproduction order form (PDF)
Personal cameras and scanners
With some exceptions, the use of cameras and scanners is permitted. There is no charge for use of cameras or scanners. Special Collections & Archives staff may forbid the use of cameras or scanners if you mishandle materials, or if your equipment poses any risk to our materials or causes disruption in our reading room. No feeder scanners are allowed.
Fees and payment
Photocopies
| Self-service | $.15 |
| By staff | No charge for up to 10 pages $.25 per page up to 50 pages $.50 per page over 50 pages Surcharge of $10 for every 100 copies |
New high resolution digital scans
Existing high res TIF files are free for download from the Special Collections and Archives Portal
| Students, educators, Nevada residents | $5 each up to 20 scans $15 each after 20 scans |
| Others | $10 each up to 20 scans $30 each after 20 scans |
Audio or audio-visual materials
| All users | Cost of labor, materials, and/or vendor charges. For existing digital files of oral histories the cost is $5 per file. Please note that the Libraries cannot confirm the content or quality of media item(s) before digitization. The requestor agrees to pay agreed upon charges and understands that content and/or quality of the media may vary. |
Research fees
| All users | No charge for first half hour; $40 per hour thereafter |
Service & invoicing fees
| Students, educators, Nevada residents | $5 per order |
| Others | $12 per order |
Rush fees
| 24 hours | 100% |
| 48 hours | 200% |
Shipping
| All users | At cost |
Payment required in advance. Work begins after receipt of payment. Requesters may pay by cash, check or credit card. In some cases, for invoices totaling more than $200, payment by electronic fund transfer (EFT) may be approved. A fee of $10 per transaction will apply for all users.
Use, copyright, and attribution
Special Collections & Archives welcomes you to use materials in our collections that are in the public domain and to make fair use of copyrighted materials as defined by copyright law. Please review how to cite our materials.
Materials held by UNLV Special Collections & Archives may be protected by United States Copyright Law and/or by the copyright laws of other countries. Copyright law protects unpublished as well as published materials.
Special Collections & Archives does not claim to control the rights for reproduction for all materials or images in its collections. Certain images or materials may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity rights, or other interests not owned by UNLV.
If UNLV does not clearly hold the copyright to an item, Special Collections & Archives cannot grant or deny permission to use that material.
In obtaining a reproduction from Special Collections & Archives, you assume all responsibility for determining whether any permissions relating to copyright, privacy, publicity, trademark (PDF), or any other rights are necessary for your intended use, and for obtaining all required permissions. Written permission from the copyright holders and/or other rights holders is required for publication, distribution, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use.
Special Collections& Archives will not do research concerning the existence and/or whereabouts of rights holders. To the extent that we provide available information, the Libraries do not warranty the accuracy of such information and shall not be responsible for any inaccurate information. Special Collections & Archives will not facilitate or execute requests for permission.
The Society of American Archivists provides further guidance about using copyrighted and unpublished materials. The U.S. Copyright Office provides information about How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work (PDF). When you cannot identify or locate the current copyright owner of a copyrighted work, the copyrighted material is sometimes called an “orphan work.” Columbia University Libraries and the Society of American Archivists also provide advice about documenting searches for copyright owners and using orphan works.
When you use material, you must properly acknowledge UNLV Special Collections & Archives as the source of the material.
You also must not use the name of Special Collections & Archives, the University Libraries, or UNLV in any manner which creates any false association between you and the image, materials, the Libraries, and/or UNLV, or that incorrectly implies any sponsorship or endorsement by the Libraries, UNLV, or any third party rights holder.
We appreciate receiving a copy of any published work that features our material.
If you have any more information about an item you've seen on our website or if you are the copyright owner and believe our website has not properly attributed your work to you or has used it without permission, we want to hear from you. Please contact special.collections@unlv.edu with your contact information and a link to the relevant content.
Privacy and publicity rights
You are solely responsible for addressing issues of privacy and publicity rights relating to your use of our materials. The rights of privacy and publicity are distinct from copyright. Although fair use is a defense to copyright infringement, it is not a defense to violating privacy or publicity rights.
An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). Special Collections& Archives reserves the right to require a release from individuals whose privacy may be violated by the reproduction of this image or materials.
The right of publicity is a person’s right to control, and profit from, the use of his or her name, image, and likeness. This means that any use of a person’s name, image, or likeness for commercial gain is not permitted without his or her consent. Rights of publicity are governed by state laws, for example Nevada Revised Statutes 597.770-810.
Disclaimer
In receiving a reproduction from our holdings, you assume all responsibility for infringement of copyright or other rights in your use of the material. You must agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Libraries, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and its Regents, officers, agents and employees, from and against any and all liabilities, losses, demand, penalties, costs, expenses, attorneys’ fees, lawsuits, fines, judgments, or causes of actions, including but not limited to claims relating to infringement of copyright, trademark, invasion of rights of privacy or publicity, or libel that arise either directly or indirectly from any use by the requester of the images and/or materials provided by the Libraries, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas or its employees, Regents, or agents.