Use Policies
At the Austin History Center, we believe in providing broad public access to our collections. AHC exists to ensure Austin’s history is discoverable, accessible, and preserved. We are excited for you to use our collections for research, publications, storytelling, and more. But we also have relationships with thousands of organizations and individuals who donate their materials to AHC, and we want to honor the agreements we make with those donors. As such, all of our collection items fall into one of the below categories for use. Please make sure you follow these policies. If you have any questions, please contact us at Austin.HistoryCenter@austintexas.gov.
On the page for each item, you will see one of the following statements listed in the Item Description under Rights (see image below for example). That statement explains what type of copyright restrictions exist for the item and what kind of use is permitted.
Public Domain – The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. This item is free to use following copyright law in the United States and may be used without obtaining permission. Please credit the Austin History Center, Austin Public Library using the required credit line as a courtesy.
AHC Owns Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted. This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for non-commercial educational or personal research use, though credit is required using the required credit line. For commercial and publication uses, you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) by submitting the Reproduction Order Form found on this page: http://library.austintexas.gov/ahc/ordering-photos.
Copyright Unknown – In Copyright – Rights-Holder(s) unlocatable or unidentifiable – This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. However, for this Item, either (a) no rights-holder(s) have been identified or (b) one or more rights-holder(s) have been identified but none have been located. You are free to use this item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For commercial and publication uses, you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) by submitting the Reproduction Order Form found on this page: http://library.austintexas.gov/ahc/ordering-photos.
Restriction 1 – 6 – This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. To use this item for any purpose, please contact the Austin History Center at Austin.HistoryCenter@austintexas.gov.
If you believe yourself to be the rights holder for any item in our digital collections and wish for the item to be removed from this website, please consult our Takedown Policy Statement.
