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."