Copyright and Citation

Why can't I download the images?

DIAMM delivers images via a complex web-delivery system. The images are not owned by DIAMM, but are available online through us thanks to rights agreements with the owning institutions, and this rights agreement prohibits the free download of images. DIAMM does not have permission to sell or give away any of these images, since we are not the copyright holder. If you wish to obtain personal copies of images that you have seen on the DIAMM website you need to contact the library that owns them. Clicking on the library name in any view will take you to the library contact details.

I want to show pictures from the website in a lecture/presentation. Will I be infringing copyright or breaching my access agreement?

The Website Access Agreement is clear that the images may only be used for research or non-commercial reasons. Since teaching falls under this category you may show any page from the DIAMM website either as a screenshot or live during a lecture.

I want to publish an article using images from the DIAMM website. How can I get permission?

If you wish to obtain print-quality copies of images that you have seen on the DIAMM website you need to contact the library that owns them to obtain permission. For publications you (or your publisher) may have to pay a reproduction rights fee, although this is usually waived for academic (i.e. non-profit) publications. Clicking on the library name in any view will take you to the library contact details. Make sure that you give the accurate information about which image(s) you require as it is extremely frustrating for libraries if they are simply given the name of a piece. You must supply the correct, complete shelf-mark for the manuscript, and the exact folio number(s) of the images you require: this is found in the text displayed beneath the images.

I want to get copies of the original images that I have seen on the website. How can I get them?

If you wish to obtain copies of images that you have seen on the DIAMM website you need to contact the library that owns them to obtain permission. You will need to specify the size/quality of the image you want. Remember that web-sized images are unsuitable for printing. If you ask for the full-sized images you will need image-processing software such as Photoshop or PaintShop Pro to open them. Clicking on the library name in any view will take you to the library contact details. Make sure that you give the accurate information about which image(s) you require as it is extremely frustrating for libraries if they are simply given the name of a piece. You must supply the correct, complete shelf-mark for the manuscript, and the exact folio number(s) of the images you require: this is found in the text displayed beneath the images.

I am a collection holder and would like to have my digital images included in the DIAMM collection. Will I have to pay to have them included?

There is no currently charge for adding your images of music manuscripts to the DIAMM collection. Our delivery mechanism was built to handle as many images as we can put into it, and the success of the site is largely dependent on its content. We are therefore more than happy to include digital images from other collections, provided there is no copyright issue.

If your collection is of non-musical items we may also be able to deliver the images. For a small number of images there would be no charge, but for collections of significant size we may need to acquire more server space, and that additional cost would have to be met by the depositor. Please contact us if you would like more information about this service.

Rights protection

Unlike most commercial organisations, DIAMM has no interest in obtaining rights to images of manuscript sources. Almost all the images archived by the Project and accessible through the DIAMM website are owned (both physically, and in terms of rights) by the institutions who own the original document, even where the photography has been done by DIAMM. The images are made available for archiving through a non-exclusive licence, which means that the rights holder may give permission for them to appear anywhere else, and is able to supply copies to anyone who requests them if they wish.

DIAMM is not an image supply service, so scholars requiring their own copies of the images should contact the owner of the document as they would if they were ordering a conventional image. If you wish to obtain copies of the images created by DIAMM, you should request them when ordering. Please ensure that you give the full and correct shelf mark and folio number as this makes it much easier for the archive to locate the image you want

Users wishing to access catalogue information and other data about manuscripts, but not requiring access to images do not need to register for use of the site. Registration is necessary, however, to give access to the high-resolution images which are available on this website. It also allows access to a number of online tools which are specific to the user account, including the ability to create a pick-list of images.

Users wishing to obtain a password to access images through this website should first read the Website Access Agreement (pdf). This protects both DIAMM and the contributing archives from the infringement of their rights, and ensures users have agreed to respect and observe all aspects of copyright in the images before they are given access to them. Users are strongly recommended to download this document, read it and keep a copy, as online registration constitutes formal agreement with this document. Online registration for access to images in the DIAMM collection may be found by clicking on the link Register with DIAMM on the navigation bar. Registration is free.

In order to protect the rights and livelihood of libraries the DIAMM licences are strictly honoured and enforced. Copies of the licences in pdf format may be downloaded by clicking on the links below. The copyright in the construction of the licences themselves belongs to DIAMM, but this right is waived for institutions or individuals wishing to use the text in original or adjusted form for their own purposes. However, DIAMM may not be held liable for any action arising from agreements using the licences in this way, or resulting from the misuse of any matter pertaining to the licences.

Website Access Agreement (pdf)

License to Digitise and Archive Primary Sources (pdf)

Licence to deliver images via the DIAMM website portal (pdf)