Using the Collection

Thinking of publishing material from the National Library's collections?

The National Library's collections are a rich source of material for the book you may be writing, or for your website, film, magazine article, broadcast, illustrated lecture, poster, consultant's report or other work. The Library encourages all these types of reproduction of material from its collections, where copyright and other restrictions permit.

Before you publish or reproduce any part of a collection item, you will need to

  • Find out if the item is in copyright, and, if it is, obtain permission from the copyright owner
  • Find out if there are any additional restrictions on the item; these apply mainly to personal papers, recorded interviews and some indigenous material
  • Obtain a copy of the material
  • For special collections material such as pictures, manuscripts and music, complete a Request for Permission to Publish form, on which you undertake to acknowledge the Library and cite the source material

Copyright

Information to help you decide whether an item is in copyright is available at:

Library staff are trained to help you find copyright information.

If you find that an item is still in copyright, you will need to get permission from the copyright owner before you can publish or reproduce that copy, and before the Library can make a copy for you for that purpose. For books and journals, the publisher will generally be the copyright owner or will be able to put you in contact with the copyright owner.

For unpublished material held by the National Library, such as manuscript material, art works and photographs, oral history recordings, and hand-drawn maps, please contact us. In many cases, we will be able to give you name and address information for the copyright contact.

Additional restrictions

Some material in the National Library's collections is subject to restrictions beyond those imposed by the Copyright Act. For instance, some personal papers in the Manuscript Collection, and some recordings from the Oral History Collection may be reproduced only with the permission of the author or interviewee. Library material relating to indigenous ceremonies may also be restricted.

To find out whether any such restrictions apply to Library material, please first check the Library catalogue.

Obtaining a copy

Once you have settled any copyright or special restriction issues, you can obtain a copy of National Library material in a number of ways. These are set out in the document Thinking of copying material from the National Library's collections?

Requesting the Library's permission

If you wish to reproduce all or part of a published book, journal, newspaper or map, and it is still in copyright, you don't need the Library's permission, but you do need the copyright owner's permission. You generally do not need to obtain permission if you are simply quoting a small extract from published textual material.

You will need to request the Library's permission to reproduce most other material, whether you purchased a copy from the Library, or used your own equipment to make a copy.

To request the Library's permission, please complete a Request for Permission to Publish form. Forms for the most common requests are available online. Please contact us if your request is not covered by these forms.

These forms are also available from the Library's reading rooms or by mail from the relevant branch.

In completing the form, you undertake to adhere to a number of conditions. The Library applies these conditions on the basis of its ownership of the material. Further information on these conditions is included on the back of the form.

When the Library receives your Request for Permission to Publish, an authorised Library staff member will sign it and return a copy to you, so that you have a written record of the permission.

Fees for permission to publish or reproduce

The Library does not charge fees for permission to publish or to reproduce selected items from its collections, but reserves the right to charge fees if you wish to reproduce an entire database, or a facsimile or transcript or an entire manuscript, book or similar work.

The Library's own publications

The Library reserves the right to decline to give permission to publish where a proposed publication is likely to affect the financial viability of a Library publication that is in print or in preparation.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Are there additional charges for publishing on merchandise e.g. greeting cards, souvenirs?
A: No.

Q: Do I have to fill out a Request for Permission to Publish Form? Can't I just write you a letter?
A: Yes you can write a letter, though you will need to include in the letter your agreement to all the conditions listed on the form.

Q: Can I ask the Library to sign my company's own image use agreement?
A: Please send us the agreement and we will consider whether we can sign it. We will probably require you to sign the Request for Permission to Publish Form, as well.

Q: I have a good image, made from a book in which a photograph of one of your collection items was published. Can I publish that?
A: You will probably infringe the copyright of the book's publisher if you publish straight from the book. If the book and the image are, however, out of copyright, you can copy directly from the image in the book.

Q: Will the National Library provide a publisher with exclusive right to publish?
A: No.

Q: I'd like to publish a text transcript of a manuscript, so I don't need a publication-quality image. Do I still need permission to reproduce?
A: Yes - if you wish to publish the whole manuscript you will need the Library's permission. If you are quoting more than a brief extract, you will need to apply for the permission of the copyright holder but not the Library. In the case of a whole manuscript, as well as the issue of copyright, the Library may need to take into account its own publishing program in considering whether to grant permission to reproduce.

Q: If I copy a collection item using my own equipment, I own the copy. So why do I still need to ask the Library's permission to use the copy?
A: The Library owns the collection item, and is entitled to set conditions on its use. As a condition of allowing you to copy it, we require you to seek our permission for any further reproduction of it. We normally do not charge for this permission. In seeking our permission, you undertake to cite the item correctly and acknowledge the Library as its location. Your publication will thus help raise awareness of the Library's collections.

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