Thanks to Paul Callomon for drawing back the curtain of the shell
publisher's back room. Interesting! Don't forget to tell us about the
positive aspects of publishing from time to time, as well as the
disappointments.
To James Cheshire and others who are trying to build up collections of
images for Web sites that we all enjoy: At least in the USA, most
publications of the federal and state government can be copied freely. The
few exceptions are clearly marked on the colophon (publication information,
usually on the page after the title page). The usual courtesy is to
acknowledge the source, preferably a complete reference, but at least the
author, date, and agency, so the reader has a chance to find it. The
underlying idea is that the public has already paid for the use of these
images by its taxes.
That doesn't mean that you can download an entire governmental database and
then copyright it for your own use. There are limits! But the occasional
use of an image is perfectly all right.
Government publications are usually placed in a separate "Documents
Division" in large libraries, and they have their own classification
according to agency: I for the Department of Interior (which includes the
U.S. Geological Survey), SI for Smithsonian Institution (which includes
tens of museums of all kinds, not just the National Museum of Natural
History), etc. You may find publications on shells in strange places. The
Navy is interested in teredinid bivalves (shipworms), for instance. Ask the
librarian for help with catalogs; it is a different world than the rest of
the library.
Paul, please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't most material published
before 1909 no longer under US copyright unless the copyright has been
renewed? Of course, rules differ from country to country, and I am no
lawyer. This would seem to indicate that you can copy images from books
published before 1909, as long as the image hasn't been reprinted since
then by someone else.
Andrew K. Rindsberg
"Nothing in this message shall be construed to constitute legal advice."
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