The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections whether these are paper-based texts, photographs, films, sound recordings, computer disks, or are “fixed” in other media. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials.
Readers should be aware that their use of materials they are permitted to access may be governed by the United States copyright law that took effect on January 1, 1978, and as since amended. This law reserves certain monopoly rights to the creators of intellectual property but permits limited “fair use” of that property in some circumstances, including for the kinds of purposes typical of scholarship and library research. The University of Iowa Libraries urges scholars and researchers to understand and exercise fully their “fair use” rights, as well as to understand their possible liability under the law should they publish or reproduce copyrighted material. The Libraries’ statement on copyright may be useful in this regard.
The University of Iowa Libraries requires the following information for the purpose of processing your request to use unpublished and other materials in its manuscript and archive collections. No persons outside the University are routinely provided the information you supply.
Please note: We can often provide photocopies (subject to the physical condition of the item(s) and possible restrictions), but our resources require that we limit the number of copies provided to each reader.
We take pride in efficient and timely reply to your requests, but we must limit the time we apportion to each reader. When your request requires more time than we can allocate, we will recommend that you plan to visit the library yourself or employ a research assistant.