|
ARCHIVAL THEORY AND PRACTICE
Lecture notes by Todd Ellison. Copyright Todd Ellison 2015. Permission is granted for use, but not for sale or any commercial or monetary gain, and you must link to this website. |
|
9th section of this course
#9
An archivist's mind has to suffer
through law, ethics and blubber,
in order to know
just which way to go
when the issues we face become tougher.
XVII. Archival ethics
A. 2 key words: commitment and integrity
1. never abuse the trust placed in us
2. give what is due, to whom it is due
B. Nature of ethical dilemmas is that there are no easy answers
1. should an archivist notify one researcher that another is working on the same or related topic?
2. ethics in an age of relativism
3. how to avoid this dilemma
4. focus on my responsibilties, not my rights
C. Read and discuss the Society of American Archivists’ code of ethics
D. Distinction between ethics and professionalism
E. Preventative steps
1. in collection development
a. cooperation, not competition
(1) establish a reasonable collection policy
(2) adhere to it, even to your own detriment
b. not splitting collections
(1) institution should encourage donors to keep collections united at one repository
(2) make appropriate inquiries and referrals
c. replevin of estrays
(1) defined (Ellis, p. 131)
(2) two reasons this can be problematic (Rhoads article)
(a) some documents were removed legally before modern laws were implemented to keep such records together
(b) private papers of public officials are ubiquitous
d. third party monetary appraisal
(1) it's unethical for a repository to provide tax appraisal for donations to their collections
(2) receiving institution may, however, pay for the appraisal
2. in collection use (see Ellis p. 132, table 4.7)
a. "moral and physical defense" of the records
(1) Sir Hilary Jenkinson's dictum of archivist's primary task (Ellis, p. 10)
(2) safeguard their authenticity & their original context w/ other records
(3) provide for their physical care & adequate security
b. adequate descriptive access to collections
(1) archival institutions are ethically bound to provide at least the broadest level of intellectual control over their holdings
(2) issue of collections processing backlogs
c. user registration, use forms
(1) equal access to all users
(2) inform users of parallel research
F. Other case studies
1. James O'Toole: archivists' personal research use of their collections
2. improper captioning, disregard for context of records used
XVIII. Legal issues in archives
A. Copyright
1. definition: (Ellis p. 127) "the exclusive right to the printing or reproduction of a work.... It is the legal right which restricts or prevents unauthorized use or distribution of a work. Copyright exists for published and unpublished works."
2. intellectual vs. physical ownership
a. transfer of the physical record does not automatically transfer copyright to the information embodied in that record
b. this may have been the case for transfers to 501 c (3) organizations before 1978 (debated, see Crawford article, p. 139), but certainly is not the case since then
c. after an unpublished work is 50 years old, intellectual ownership adheres with the physical owner
d. published works' copyrights can be renewed
3. copyright owner's exclusive rights/ literary property rights
a. 5 specific rights belonging to the creator of a work or to the creator's heirs or assigns
(1) to reproduce by publication or copying
(2) to prepare derivative works
(3) to distribute or disseminate it publicly, by sale, transfer of ownership, rental, lease or lending (this includes the right to transfer the copyright)
(4) to perform it publicly
(5) to display it publicly
b. copyright begins when the work is "fixed" in some tangible form
c. case study: who owns the copyright to a collection of incoming letters?
4. Fair use (including making copies)
a. three conditions that must be met when staff makes single copies for the use of a researcher {show fair use sign}
(1) must be for scholarship, research, or private study (not for profit)
(2) must post copyright notice and have notice appear on copy
(3) copy must become the property of the researcher
b. there is no limit to the number of pages that may be copied from unique records without violating copyright, so long as the purpose of the copy is as stated above
5. term of copyright
a. until the 1976 Copyright Act was passed, unpublished works had perpetual copyright
b. now there are definite durations
c. January 1, 1978 and January1. 2003 are the key dates
6. Copyright Act of 1976
a. changed the adminstration of copyright for unpublished works from the state gov'ts to the federal gov't
b. changed the duration of copyright for unpublished works from perpetual to a fixed limit
c. materials created on or after 1 Jan. 1978 are copyrighted for a term of the author's life plus 50 years
d. works made for hire and works for which the Copyright Office is unable to attribute authorship are copyrighted for a term of 75 years from publication or 100 years from when created, whichever is shorter
e. unpublished materials created before 1 Jan. 1978 are likewise copyrighted for a term of the author's life plus 50 years (or the 75/100 years term), except that all unpublished works are guaranteed at least 25 years of statutory protection, i.e., through the end of the year 2002, and if the work is published during that period the term will be extended another 25 years, through the end of 2027
f. nearly all manuscripts in repository collections are covered by copyright protection until the year 2003
g. unpublished materials created by authors who died before the year 1953 will pass into the public domain in 2003 (50 years)
h. transfer of copyright must be in writing
C. Tax law
1. creators can no longer receive tax credit for contributing their own works
2. their heirs can, however
3. new law passed in 8/93: all gifts of appreciated property are now fully deductible at fair market value for all taxpayers on a permanent basis
4. cf. article about ownership of written work produced under a joint project with gov't
D. Privacy issues
E. The archivist's responsibilities
1. use of proper forms
2. creation of a paper trail (incl. retention of copy requests for 3 years)
3. reasonable care
#9
An archivist's mind has to suffer
through law, ethics and blubber,
in order to know
just which way to go
when the issues we face become tougher.
XVII. Archival ethics
A. 2 key words: commitment and integrity
1. never abuse the trust placed in us
2. give what is due, to whom it is due
B. Nature of ethical dilemmas is that there are no easy answers
1. should an archivist notify one researcher that another is working on the same or related topic?
2. ethics in an age of relativism
3. how to avoid this dilemma
4. focus on my responsibilties, not my rights
C. Read and discuss the Society of American Archivists’ code of ethics
D. Distinction between ethics and professionalism
E. Preventative steps
1. in collection development
a. cooperation, not competition
(1) establish a reasonable collection policy
(2) adhere to it, even to your own detriment
b. not splitting collections
(1) institution should encourage donors to keep collections united at one repository
(2) make appropriate inquiries and referrals
c. replevin of estrays
(1) defined (Ellis, p. 131)
(2) two reasons this can be problematic (Rhoads article)
(a) some documents were removed legally before modern laws were implemented to keep such records together
(b) private papers of public officials are ubiquitous
d. third party monetary appraisal
(1) it's unethical for a repository to provide tax appraisal for donations to their collections
(2) receiving institution may, however, pay for the appraisal
2. in collection use (see Ellis p. 132, table 4.7)
a. "moral and physical defense" of the records
(1) Sir Hilary Jenkinson's dictum of archivist's primary task (Ellis, p. 10)
(2) safeguard their authenticity & their original context w/ other records
(3) provide for their physical care & adequate security
b. adequate descriptive access to collections
(1) archival institutions are ethically bound to provide at least the broadest level of intellectual control over their holdings
(2) issue of collections processing backlogs
c. user registration, use forms
(1) equal access to all users
(2) inform users of parallel research
F. Other case studies
1. James O'Toole: archivists' personal research use of their collections
2. improper captioning, disregard for context of records used
XVIII. Legal issues in archives
A. Copyright
1. definition: (Ellis p. 127) "the exclusive right to the printing or reproduction of a work.... It is the legal right which restricts or prevents unauthorized use or distribution of a work. Copyright exists for published and unpublished works."
2. intellectual vs. physical ownership
a. transfer of the physical record does not automatically transfer copyright to the information embodied in that record
b. this may have been the case for transfers to 501 c (3) organizations before 1978 (debated, see Crawford article, p. 139), but certainly is not the case since then
c. after an unpublished work is 50 years old, intellectual ownership adheres with the physical owner
d. published works' copyrights can be renewed
3. copyright owner's exclusive rights/ literary property rights
a. 5 specific rights belonging to the creator of a work or to the creator's heirs or assigns
(1) to reproduce by publication or copying
(2) to prepare derivative works
(3) to distribute or disseminate it publicly, by sale, transfer of ownership, rental, lease or lending (this includes the right to transfer the copyright)
(4) to perform it publicly
(5) to display it publicly
b. copyright begins when the work is "fixed" in some tangible form
c. case study: who owns the copyright to a collection of incoming letters?
4. Fair use (including making copies)
a. three conditions that must be met when staff makes single copies for the use of a researcher {show fair use sign}
(1) must be for scholarship, research, or private study (not for profit)
(2) must post copyright notice and have notice appear on copy
(3) copy must become the property of the researcher
b. there is no limit to the number of pages that may be copied from unique records without violating copyright, so long as the purpose of the copy is as stated above
5. term of copyright
a. until the 1976 Copyright Act was passed, unpublished works had perpetual copyright
b. now there are definite durations
c. January 1, 1978 and January1. 2003 are the key dates
6. Copyright Act of 1976
a. changed the adminstration of copyright for unpublished works from the state gov'ts to the federal gov't
b. changed the duration of copyright for unpublished works from perpetual to a fixed limit
c. materials created on or after 1 Jan. 1978 are copyrighted for a term of the author's life plus 50 years
d. works made for hire and works for which the Copyright Office is unable to attribute authorship are copyrighted for a term of 75 years from publication or 100 years from when created, whichever is shorter
e. unpublished materials created before 1 Jan. 1978 are likewise copyrighted for a term of the author's life plus 50 years (or the 75/100 years term), except that all unpublished works are guaranteed at least 25 years of statutory protection, i.e., through the end of the year 2002, and if the work is published during that period the term will be extended another 25 years, through the end of 2027
f. nearly all manuscripts in repository collections are covered by copyright protection until the year 2003
g. unpublished materials created by authors who died before the year 1953 will pass into the public domain in 2003 (50 years)
h. transfer of copyright must be in writing
C. Tax law
1. creators can no longer receive tax credit for contributing their own works
2. their heirs can, however
3. new law passed in 8/93: all gifts of appreciated property are now fully deductible at fair market value for all taxpayers on a permanent basis
4. cf. article about ownership of written work produced under a joint project with gov't
D. Privacy issues
E. The archivist's responsibilities
1. use of proper forms
2. creation of a paper trail (incl. retention of copy requests for 3 years)
3. reasonable care
