Photograph Orders

For research and publication purposes, the Concord Free Public Library holds and provides access to tens of thousands of images documenting the Concord landscape (natural and built), the town’s people and life, and its historical, cultural, and literary heritage, as well as photographs of unique items—manuscripts and artwork—in the Library collections.  On-site access to the Library’s photographic collections is staff-assisted—patrons are not permitted to browse holdings—and by appointment only (call 978-318-3342 to make appointments).  To facilitate the search process, staff members provide such finding aids and inventories as are available for collections relevant to areas of patron interest and pull specific files, albums, microfilm reels, etc., for supervised use within the Special Collections reading room.

Those unable to visit the Library may contact Anke Voss (avoss@concordma.gov) for assistance in identifying potentially useful images.  In addition, the William Munroe Special Collections pages of the CFPL Web site (and especially Most Requested Images, below) include many representative examples of our visual holdings, which may aid those looking for particular types of images.  We do not scan images specifically for individual selection purposes, but will photocopy and mail or fax a limited number for patron consideration.

Patrons who wish to obtain a copy of a CFPL image should make their requests in writing (by email or U.S. mail), including address and telephone contact information.  We do not fill photo orders placed by telephone.

Images are available in 8” x 10” or 12” x 18” print form on matte or lustre (semi-gloss) paper or in electronic form.  The cost per electronic image or 8” x 10” print is $15.00 (plus postage, when applicable), per 12” x 18” print $25.00, plus postage.   

Visitors may not bring their own photographic equipment or scanners into the Special Collections to make copies of images held by the CFPL, nor may they remove holdings for copy work outside the Library.  Moreover, works of art in the Library may not be photographed without permission.

Please be aware that we do not accept rush orders, which necessitate moving earlier-placed orders out of queue.  Since the CFPL fills many photo orders yearly, rush orders unfairly inconvenience others.  Under the best of circumstances, a patron may receive an order within a week of requesting an image.  Often, however, the process takes about two weeks, possibly longer if the order is for multiple images.

The Photo Archivist will mail a bill along with the completed order, or, if the order is sent by email, separately.  We accept checks made out to the Concord Free Public Library (all foreign checks to be payable in U.S. funds).  We do not accept payment by credit card.

Patrons requesting images should provide the following information:

Reproduction Permissions

While we are pleased to provide prints for personal reference or home use, patrons should understand that receipt of a photograph from the CFPL does not confer the right to reproduce that image in any form.  To use an image in publication or for exhibit other than home display, it is necessary to obtain formal permission.

Obtaining permission to reproduce Concord Free Public Library images (including photographs of unique items held by the Library) in publication, on the Web, or in video productions, or to include Library images in commercial display requires: (a) a written request providing the details of intended use (requests by email are encouraged); (b) inclusion of the clearly visible credit line “Courtesy Concord Free Public Library” adjacent to the image; (c) payment of a $75.00 per image one-time use reproduction fee; and (d) signing a form acknowledging the restrictions on use.

Permission for the specific use requested is granted upon payment of the reproduction fee (checks to be made out to Concord Free Public Library).  Additional use of the image in any other product or form than that specified (for instance, in a separate digital version of a printed book) requires another written request and the payment of an additional reproduction fee.

Display in museum and similar exhibitions usually does not involve payment of reproduction fees (unless an image is to be included in a printed catalog), nor does use in a student presentation, in most teaching situations, or in dissertations (unless the dissertation is to be reproduced by a distribution agency).  Such uses nevertheless require written requests and the inclusion of the credit line or verbal acknowledgment, as appropriate.  However, all Web uses of CFPL images—even for educational purposes—involve payment of the reproduction fee, among other requirements.

We do not distinguish between non-profit and commercial use in assessing reproduction charges for formal publication of images, nor do we grant exclusive rights to any party for use of specific images.

Please direct permissions requests and more general permissions questions to Anke Voss, Curator of William Munroe Special Collections: avoss@concordma.gov

Reproduction fees help to offset the significant costs involved in maintaining, developing, and providing the services associated with the management of a major archive.

 

Town of Concord Use of Library-Held Images

For Town of Concord use in municipally-funded public projects: up to six images may be requested for reference/file use, for display in public buildings, or for use in publication before the image preparation fee and reproduction fee apply.  All other rules regarding image use apply (one-time use only; use of the credit line; no scanning or photographic equipment brought in to copy library-held material).  Requests for town use should be sent to the Curator Anke Voss in writing (e-mail is fine: avoss@concordma.gov) by the head of the requesting town department and copied to the Library Director Kerry Cronin (kcronin@concordma.gov).

 

Concord Town Records: Reproduction and Use in Publication

The official town records deposited by the Town of Concord in the Concord Free Public Library William Munroe Special Collections are public records, access to and publication use of which are free to all.  Although patrons may not use their own equipment to reproduce from library-held materials, they may bring digital cameras and hand-held scanners into the reading room for the purpose of copying items from the Concord Town Archives, with the exception of original birth, marriage, and death records, copies of which are obtainable only through the Concord Town Clerk’s office (townclerk@concordma.gov; 978 318-3080).  (However, the Library holds a published volume of Concord vital records from 1635 to 1850 and transcriptions of the vital records from 1850 to 1935, both of which may be copied directly by the researcher for personal reference.) 

No scanner requiring the inversion of bound material or the placement of material within the equipment is permitted for use with the town records.  If photocopy is possible without placing an item at risk of physical damage, it will be done by staff for the standard photocopy fee of 15 cents per sheet.  Paper prints from microfilm of town records may be prepared at a cost of 25 cents per sheet, or patrons may use their digital cameras to shoot from frames displayed on the microfilm reader/printer.  (At this point, it is not possible to create digital files from the reader/printer in the Special Collections reading room.)  If patrons request prints or digital files from town records for publication purposes, the standard image preparation fees apply.  The credit line “Courtesy Town of Concord and Concord Free Public Library” must appear adjacent to all published images from Concord town records (whether photographed by the patron or scanned by staff).

 

Most Requested Images

The following selection of Concord Free Public Library images is provided to suggest the range of photographs available in the Special Collections and to streamline the ordering process for some of those most frequently requested by patrons.  It is—emphatically—not intended to limit patron selection.  If you do not see what you are looking for here, please do not hesitate to contact us to explore other possibilities.  If you find what you want, you may order it by number (indicating that you saw it on our photo order page), providing all necessary technical information (see the bulleted section, above).  If an image is shown in black and white, it is available only in black and white.  If it is shown in color (including sepia), please specify whether you want it in black and white or color.

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