UA Archives | Collection Policies

Collection Policies

General (^ top)

The Upper Arlington Public Library’s UA Archives strives to have an unbiased collection encompassing diverse opinions and formats. The UA Archives collection shares the overarching goal of the Library to support intellectual freedom by providing a variety of materials to meet informational, educational, recreational and cultural needs. The collection reflects a range of opinions without censorship, and the presence of an idea, opinion, or point of view in the collection does not constitute endorsement by the Board or the staff.

While the Archives may contain some material with offensive language or negative stereotypes, the Library considers such materials a valid part of our society’s historical record, as they depict attitudes and opinions of a different era. The Board and staff recognize the Library’s responsibility to provide alternative opinions and viewpoints and to support the freedom of patrons to make choices.

Access (^ top)

A primary purpose of the UA Archives site is to improve access and increase public awareness of materials relating to the past, present, and future of Upper Arlington, Ohio by creating a universally accessible online archive. Equal access shall be provided to all users, regardless of whether or not they are UAPL patrons or Upper Arlington residents.

While the Library maintains high-resolution image files within its digital archives, the images made available via the Internet will be low-resolution 72 dpi files utilizing JPEG or JPEG 2000 compression, and thus are not of a quality suitable for reproduction in published materials. The Library shall provide access to the high-resolution images only if a written request to view or obtain a copy of these files is approved by the Library and the owner of the materials.

Copyright & Fair Use (^ top)

The Upper Arlington Public Library respects issues of copyright and intellectual property. Donors of original materials to the UA Archives shall provide the Library with appropriate copyright ownership information for each item in the donated or loaned collection. The Library shall have no obligation to independently investigate copyright ownership and shall rely on donors’ representations. The Upper Arlington Public Library reserves the right to remove items from the UA Archives if there is any question of copyright violation.

The Library alone cannot provide permission to publish items from the UA Archives. Notices are posted on the website stating that all publication and use requests will be forwarded to the owner of the original materials in the manner agreed to by the owner and the Library. Permission to publish or use an electronic file may be granted only if both the Library and the owner of the materials approve a written request. The website shall also contain copyright notices and warnings informing the public they may not use the digital representations in any manner that would constitute a violation of copyright law. Use and copying of digital representations from the UA Archives is allowed only in accordance with the Fair Use Provision of the United States Copyright Law, which provides exceptions for research, private study, or educational instruction purposes.

Responsibility for Selection (^ top)

Staff members who are qualified by education, training, subject area expertise, and job classification will perform materials selection for the UA Archives. Staff will then prioritize the selected materials according to their expected value and interest to the Upper Arlington community. The Library Director assumes ultimate responsibility for the collection, subject to the policies and mandates of the Board of Trustees.

Selection Criteria (^ top)

UA Archives actively solicits materials relating to the history of Upper Arlington, Ohio from local government, community organizations, businesses, and individuals. Historical materials in all formats are considered and may consist of photographs, documents, arts and crafts, and audio or video recordings. Materials selected for inclusion will be digitized, organized within an electronic database, and cataloged for ease of online searching and browsing. Selection criteria include historical significance and relevance of the subject or its depiction of daily life, the educational or entertainment value of the subject, and the availability of sufficient and reliable descriptions of the material.

Preservation of original sources is a key objective, and priority is given to the digitization of rare or brittle items that would benefit from reduced handling with the availability of an online surrogate. Extremely fragile items are considered for inclusion only if they are deemed able to withstand the contact scanning or digital photography processes. All items must either be in the public domain or have written copyright permissions granted before inclusion in the UA Archives.

Selection Sources (^ top)

Identification of desirable materials for inclusion within the UA Archives may come from the suggestions of subject experts, community organizations, or individuals, as well as print sources such as the Upper Arlington Historical Society’s History of Upper Arlington, the Upper Arlington community’s Norwester magazine, and similar accounts of Upper Arlington history. A review of these sources assists in analysis of the historical significance of certain individuals, organizations, places, and events.

Acquisition (^ top)

Materials may be acquired for the UA Archives either through permanent donation of original materials or through temporary loan of materials for digitization purposes. In the latter case, the original items remain in the ownership of the temporary donor, and the Upper Arlington Public Library’s UA Archives assumes ownership of the digital representations. When materials are acquired through permanent donation, the Library encourages the transfer of original items to the Upper Arlington Historical Society for permanent storage after the digitization process has been completed. The Library does not provide formal monetary appraisals for any donations.

Donated items must meet the established selection criteria, and the staff time and cost required for digitization and storage of electronic representations is considered before acceptance of any donation. Adequate documentation for each item must also be provided in the form of a completed Donation Description form. The Library reserves the right to determine which items are appropriate for inclusion in the UA Archives, and acceptance of an item for digitization does not guarantee its display in the online collection.

Preservation of Original Materials (^ top)

The Library shall use its best efforts to protect original materials while they are in the Library’s possession and shall not be responsible for damage as long as the materials are handled in accordance with standard industry practices. An owner should not loan the Library items that he or she believes may be damaged during the digitization process, and accordingly, the Library has the right to reject certain materials if it believes they may be damaged during digitization.

At the donor’s request, the Library will provide information relating to proper storage of archival photographs, documents, and recordings. To promote preservation and the use of a centralized repository for materials of historical significance, the Library recommends permanent storage of original materials with the Upper Arlington Historical Society.

Requests for Materials (^ top)

Requests for the addition of certain materials to the UA Archives collection may be submitted to the Library via an online Request for Materials form. Printed copies of the form are also available at all libraries, and consideration will be given to all requests.

Objections to Materials (^ top)

The Upper Arlington Public Library recognizes that they serve a diverse public, and occasionally a visitor to the UA Archives website may believe a specific item should not be included in the collection. In accordance with general Library policy, a request for review will be considered only if the individual has read, viewed, or listened to the entire item in question, since materials are evaluated in their entirety. Materials previously reviewed will not be reconsidered unless the newer request is based on substantially different reasons than the first.

Collection Development Levels (^ top)

The UA Archives will strive to maintain a balanced collection in terms of formats, individual items, and broad subject categories. Multiple copies and different versions of a single photograph, document, or subject may be acquired by the UA Archives and will be stored within the archival collection. However, if a single one of these versions is identified as more complete or in better condition, this may be the only version selected for online display. Items will be actively sought for the collection in an attempt to represent the broad categories of People, Government, Culture, Business and Economy, and Environment as they relate to the historical development of Upper Arlington, Ohio. Each of these five subject areas will be collected for online display at the basic instructional level and will include general materials to introduce and define the subjects. The collection will be comprehensive enough to support broad subject areas, but it is not designed to provide support for all subtopics within subject areas.

Collection Maintenance (^ top)

In an effort to maintain a balance of formats and subjects within the UA Archives online collection, items will be periodically evaluated for replacement or removal from display. Items may be replaced if they are superseded by material that is more complete, in better condition, or representative of a more balanced collection. Items and their descriptions may be removed if they are found to be inaccurate, or if their display is determined to be in violation of United States Copyright Law. If additional information is acquired about an item already included in the UA Archives, the item’s metadata and description will be updated accordingly.

All electronic representations, including high- and low-resolution image files, as well as text transcription, sound, and video files, will be backed up on a regular basis. Once a week, archival files will be copied from the UA Archives server onto a removable hard drive, and the removable hard drive will be transferred offsite. Integrity of the digital representations will be maintained through scheduled annual reviews of file formats, storage mediums, software versions, and equipment. If an impending obsolescence or a newer, more suitable technology is identified, appropriate measures will be taken to update the affected components.