Website: New York Public Library Digital Collections
Website’s Rights Statement: Terms of Use
The New York Public Library (NYPL) Digital Collection is a living database that showcases prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, and video. Though the NYPL has not officially reviewed all their works for copyright restrictions, much of their material is old enough to be in the public domain and is listed as such. Others that are unmarked or held by the NYPL are explicitly held to the terms and conditions listed on the website. The responsibility is thus given to the user to determine what material is subject to fair use.
Website: UC Berkeley Library Digital Collections
Website’s Rights Statement: Terms of Use #1, Terms of Use #2
The UC Berkeley Digital Collections includes digitized books, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and more. The Library’s terms expressly state that “The Library does not claim to hold copyright in public domain materials that it digitally
reproduces and makes openly available online”. The only time in which permission is required is if someone wants to use the library’s collection beyond fair use.
Website: Prelinger Archives
Website’s Rights Statement: Terms of Use #1, Terms of Use #2
The Prelinger Archives offers a large collection of public films, including educational, advertising, industrial, and amateur. These materials are available for free download and can be used, modified, and distributed without restriction. According to the terms of use, “Prelinger Archives used the Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication for many years. After some time it became clear that this license did not work well with many films in our archives and we stopped using it”, implying that while the rights information may differ based on the individual item pages, most are now in the public domain.
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