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Re: Policies regrding sending electronic images



This particular argument always strikes me as false logic. If you give
someone a physical print, they can scan it and make high quality
electronic versions. As always, if their intent is nefarious, they will
find a way. What we do often do is supply reduced resolution versions.
As a rule of thumb, monitor resolution is about 72 dpi. Give them a 72
dpi image, and they can look at it, give one ca. 150 dpi, they can zoom
in once. Try printing it to a laser printer at 600dpi and it comes out
poorly - they are unlikely to be able to do much beyond illustrate an
essay etc. with it, and with luck they might buy a decent copy from you.

The other advantage of a low resolution is you can put it on your
website and leave the searcher to do all the work. This has worked with
at least one collection (where we owned the copyright and could do this)
of glass negatives, where the whole lot has been put online. Admittedly
the piratical profits to be derived from roadworks in Co. Durham in the
1930's are probably limited, but it makes difficult and fragile media
far safer to work with.
--
# Richard Higgins
# Durham University Library
# Archives & Special Collections
# Palace Green
# Durham
# DH1 3RN
# E-Mail: r.i.higgins@durham.ac.uk

> David Smolen wrote:
>
> Fellow Archivists, I was wondering if anyone on the list could share
> with me their policies regarding electronically sending images to
> customers who request a reproduction of an image rather than giving
> them a physical print. I feel like giving customers electronic
> versions of images is like giving them a negative and so I don't like
> doing it. The problem of course is that more and more people are
> asking for images to be placed on a zip disk and it gets harder and
> harder to tell people no. Any thoughts on this topic would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> David Smolen
> Special Collections Librarian
> New Hampshire Historical Society
> Phone: 603-225-3381 ext.21
> Fax: 603-224-0463
> Email: dsmolen@nhhistory.org

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