Duplication and Publication Policy

Access to The Wittliff Collections (Southwestern Writers Collection/Southwestern & Mexican Photography Collection) is subject to any restrictions placed on materials by donors or depositors or staff for preservation, processing, or other essential purposes.

Duplication of published or unpublished material must fall within the scope of Fair Use as stated in U.S. Copyright Law (Section 107). Fair Use of materials for the non-commercial purposes of criticism, comment, teaching, or scholarship is determined by the following four guidelines: 1.) the purpose and character of the use, 2.) the nature of the material used, 3.) the amount of material used in relation to the whole, and 4.) the effect of the use on the market for the work.

Unpublished material may be duplicated only if there are no restrictions on such activity, and with the understanding that permission from the copyright holder must be granted to quote from or publish such material in any way. Additionally, any such copies are not to be reproduced or made available to any other person or institution without written permission from the The Wittliff Collections.

All duplication of materials will be performed by our staff. Duplicated materials will be mailed, unless staff time permits otherwise and other arrangements are made. Fill out a Photocopy Request form for photocopies, and a Duplication Request form for other types of duplication services, such as scanning. The use of personal scanners or cameras is not permitted without permission from an archivist or curator on our staff. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. Please see the Fee Schedule for duplication prices.

Publication of any material from The Wittliff Collections requires written permission from the copyright holder and a completed Application for Permission to Publish form submitted to us. The researcher is responsible for obtaining permission from the copyright holder. The researcher may request that the requirement of written permission from the copyright holder be waived if the copyright holder or his/her heirs cannot be found after a proven good faith effort to locate them. Permission to publish is for one-time use only – subsequent uses require additional written permission.

The researcher agrees to indemnify and hold harmless The Wittliff Collections, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

We reserve the right to assess a publication fee for both profit and non-profit publication of manuscript material from The Wittliff Collections. We also require that one complete copy of a publication based on its collections be donated to The Wittliff Collections.

The following format should be used for citation in publications (in addition to citing the item/photographer and collection name):

Southwestern Writers Collection / Texas State University-San Marcos

or

Southwestern & Mexican Photography Collection / Texas State University-San Marcos