Archives Service Center:
Usage Policies and Guidelines
7500 Thomas Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15208
phone: 412-648-3232
fax 412-648-2170
Hours | Staff | Directions
Archives of Industrial Society
Search Collection Guides:
Browse Collection Guides (New!)
Browse by subjects, topics, repositories and more!
Browse does not work well using Internet Explorer; highly recommend using Firefox, Chrome or Safari browsers.
Collection Access | Usage Permission Agreement | Citation Guide
ASC Policies and Procedures for the Use of Collections (PDF)
Certain collections held by the Archives Service Center are subject to donor, administrative, or conservation restrictions. Researchers should contact Contact Us or telephone 412-648-3232 in advance of any visit to ensure availability of any collection in which they are interested.
Usage Permission Request Form
ASC Reproduction & Usage Request Form (PDF)
The Archives Service Center has developed one form for use in requesting reproductions and usage permission. Please print out the above form, complete and sign it, and then return via US mail (or in person) along with payment. At this time the Archives Service Center can only accept cash, checks or money orders payable to the “University of Pittsburgh.” We highly recommend you contact us with questions about your order before you submit it with payment!
Materials for use in publication, exhibition, or any other public purpose require written permission from the Archives Service Center. All proposed commercial use of material, including photographs and media, must be stated in advance. A fee will be charged for all commercial use approved by the Archives Service Center. Use of materials from the Archives Service Center does not imply that the Archives endorses the product, enterprise, opinions, or confirms the accuracy of any content in the publication or production.
Permission may be granted upon request for a one-time, non-exclusive use of material for publication, exhibition, documentary creation, or other purpose if the proposed use is specified and approved. Any subsequent use of the same material will require separate permission from the Archives Service Center and may require payment of a separate use fee.
The person, publisher, or production company who requests permission to use a photograph or other media in their project is responsible for providing the Archives Service Center with verification that proper use and credit has been made as specified in the original request and for which permission to use was granted. One copy of the completed work is considered fulfillment of the verification requirement.
It is the user’s responsibility to know and comply with copyright law, defamation and libel law, privacy, and other applicable law, as well as to secure necessary permissions or licenses from the University or appropriate third parties to publish or use the materials which do not qualify as “fair use.”
The copyright law of the U.S. (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to make a photocopy or reproduction. One of the specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for a purpose which does not qualify as "fair use" under current copyright law, that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Citation Guide
ASC Citation Guide (PDF)
The Archives Service Center has developed its own citation guide to assist researchers in properly attributing credit to material they cite from collections held here. Individual faculty, journal editors, university presses, and book publishers may require the use of a specific style manual, but most style manuals do not provide complete instructions for the citation of all manuscript materials. For example, The Chicago Manual of Style’s general rules for references to unpublished materials indicate that “Librarians and archivists are usually willing and able to explain to an author what is required in citations to the documents in their collections.”
One intention for this guide is to provide advice for adequate citation to manuscript materials without regard to any specific style manual. Providing adequate information that would enable archives staff, other researchers, and you a clear link to cited materials from the Archives Service Center is our aim. Ideally, each citation should include enough information to identify the specific item used.