The Cornwall Historical Society (CHS) is pleased to provide reproductions and permissions, when possible, of materials in its collection for use in publications, exhibitions, presentations, film and video projects, websites, and other works. The CHS offers two types of use permission:

• Permission to cite and quote from unpublished materials
• Permission to reproduce images of materials

All requests should be made in writing via US mail or email.

Citation Permissions

Researchers citing and quoting from unpublished materials held at the CHS must request permission from the Society through US mail or email. CHS reviews all requests to ensure there are no copyright or other restrictions on the materials. When a request is approved, you will receive use permission notification via US mail or e-mail. There are no fees charged for citation/quotation permission.

Submitting Requests

To initialize your request, locate the collection from which you plan to cite or quote material using our online finding aid and submit a request. When providing a project description, please include:

• Title of work and publication title (if relevant)
• Publisher or sponsoring institution
• Actual or planned date of publication, presentation, exhibition opening, etc.
• Mailing or e-mail address where you wish to receive the permission letter

Once your request has been submitted CHS will review the collection for copyright or other restrictions and, if the request is approved, issue a use permission confirmation notice delivered via US mail or e-mail.

The Society does not have a role in granting permission to cite or quote from published works including, but not limited to, books, broadsides, pamphlets, and journals. When a work has been published, the intellectual copyright lies with the author until the copyright expires. Cornell University provides a useful chart showing the Copyright Term and Public Domain in the United States as well as a checklist for fair use of published materials that may be helpful to you in determining whether or not any published materials you wish to reproduce are protected by copyright.

Image Permission and Fees

It is necessary for users to request formal permission for the visual reproduction of all material held in the CHS collections. Permission is for one‐time, non‐exclusive use only. Users may not crop, alter, manipulate, superimpose, enhance, or otherwise change the image in any manner without obtaining the prior written permission of the CHS.  All reproductions must credit the Cornwall Historical Society as the source of the image.

The Cornwall Historical Society may charge fees for the reproduction and use of items from its collections. Fees are applied to images the CHS holds the copyright to. Please note that all use fees (for use of images) are assessed on a per-image basis and are independent of reproduction fees. In the case of images in the public domain, or to which we do not hold the copyright, only reproduction fees are charged. The CHS will not reproduce materials in violation of copyright or donor restrictions. The CHS also reserves the right to refuse requests for copies of items too fragile to be safely reproduced.

Requests must be submitted via our Image Permission and Request Form. Please complete the form as thoroughly as possible.

Statement on Copyright

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 photocopy or 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.