Humanities and Social Sciences Library > Collections & Reading Rooms > Manuscripts and Archives Division

Duplication of Materials

The Division and the Library offer a range of duplication services, including photocopying, digital photography, and microfilming.

The New York Public Library reserves the right to prohibit the reproduction of any item that may be damaged by any duplicating process or the duplication of which is restricted or prohibited by the terms of purchase or gift.

Division staff will ultimately determine the appropriate means of duplication after a review of each complete order.

All duplication is done by Library staff.

Personal photography of collection material is not permitted.

Photocopies are for personal use only. No part may be sold, loaned, copied, or published without the written permission of The New York Public Library.

Requesting Reproductions

On-site readers are required to identify and flag item(s) they wish duplicated. Appropriate forms are available in the reading room.

Remote requests for photocopies should made in writing directly to the Division.

All other types of reproductions should be requested through the Library’s Photographic Services and Permissions office. Consult its web site for information, prices, and order forms.

Duplication requests submitted by email or mail should include the name of the collection and, when applicable, the box and folder number/title that contain the item(s) being requested.
If this information cannot be provided, fulfillment of the order will be delayed.

When locating requested item(s) requires extensive research, readers will be referred to NYPL Express (the Library’s fee-based research service) or be asked to engage a qualified agent to conduct the research on their behalf.

Photocopies

No photocopies are made from bound volumes. Bound volumes are only microfilmed in their entirety.

Photocopies are for personal use only. No part may be sold, loaned, copied, or published without the written permission of The New York Public Library.

Readers requesting a large number of photocopies from a single box may be required to have the entire box microfilmed. Likewise, readers requesting a large number of photocopies from a single collection may be required to have a discrete portion of that collection (perhaps encompassing material not specifically requested) microfilmed.

Photocopy orders may take several days to several weeks to complete depending on the size of the request.

Orders must be paid for (by credit card or check) in advance of fulfillment. Checks should be payable to The New York Public Library. Overseas customers paying by check or money order must send payment in U.S. dollars drawn on a United States bank.

Completed orders are delivered by mail.

A $15.00 fee will be added to any request requiring special preparation by staff. (All orders over 200 copies are assessed this fee.)

Publication

Permission to publish or quote from any material from the collections must be obtained from the Division . In addition to a description of the document(s) being quoted, permission requests must include the name of the collection and, when applicable, the box and folder (identified by number or title) that contain the document(s).

As a courtesy, the Division ask that researchers making substantial use of its collections notify the Division of their publication plans even when not quoting directly.

It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish from appropriate copyright owners. An excellent resource for locating copyright holders for authors and artists is the WATCH File (Writers, Artists, and Their Copyright Holders), maintained by the Harry Ransom Center. This resource also includes useful information on copyright and finding copyright holders.

The Library’s Photographic Services and Permissions office handles permission requests for still and moving images.