Access to Photographs

 

Core Collection and AMPAS Photographs

The Photograph Archive administers and maintains all photographic material in the Margaret Herrick Library, including Core Collection photographs, Academy Awards® Show photographs, and photograph subcollections or series in Special Collections.


Appointments

Undigitized Special Collections Photographs and undigitized Core Collection negatives, slides and transparencies are available by appointment only to individuals with a bona fide research need. Appointments must be made at least three business days in advance. You can set up an appointment online at Academy Collections by doing an Advanced Search of the material you would like to view, instructions are below:

  • At Academy Collections click on Advanced.
  • For Dataset select “Library Holdings”.
  • For undigitized photographs, in Holdings type select “Photograph files”.
  • For digitized photographs, in Holdings type select “Photographs”.
  • Enter the film title in the Film Title field along with the release year in BOTH Film Year fields (you can only search on one film at a time).
  • For Department enter “Photo Archive” and click Search.
  • Select the folders you want (it will tally up in the “My Selection”) and then you can do another search, add selections, etc.
  • Once you’ve made your selections go to “My Selection” and click on “Research request”.
  • Fill out all the fields and Send Request.

If you have questions about scheduling an appointment or need research assistance, please email ref@oscars.org. Due to the large number of researchers and/or demand for large volumes of material, and to protect fragile material, the Library sets reasonable limitations on the amount of material that can be paged and how many appointments are available each day. On the day of your appointment the Library’s "Application to Use Special Collections/Photograph Archive Collections" form (available at the Service Desk) must be completed by the applicant before Special Collections Photographs are made physically available.


Reproduction of Photographs

All reproductions of photographs in the library’s collections are handled by Photograph Archive staff. Digital prints or scans may be purchased as follows (prices subject to change):

  • Reproduction of prints, transparencies, slides, or negatives - $40 per 8x10 print or scan
  • Rush order of same - $80 per 8x10 print or scan
  • Academy Awards® /A.M.P.A.S. ® events - $50 per 8x10 print or scan [see *Note]
  • Rush Academy Awards® /A.M.P.A.S. ® events - $100 per 8x10 print or scan [see *Note]
  • Reproductions from bound volumes - $60 per 8x10 print or digital file

Photograph orders of 10 images or less, placed on any day of the week, will be digitally delivered, ready for pick up, or mailed out on the Friday of the following week by 12 noon. (An order between 11 and 20 images would be ready on the second Friday, at 12 noon, and so on.) There will be a slight delay during weeks which include legal holidays. Orders must be placed at the Special Collections Desk before 4pm on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, and before 7pm on Tuesdays.

"Rush" orders, with a general limit of ten images, are usually ready within 48 hours. Additional costs are assessed, depending on what services are requested. 


Copyright and Reproduction Rights

The Library provides reproductions only for the purposes of private study, scholarship, or research. The Library reserves the right to refuse any order that it believes would violate copyright law. Therefore, patrons are responsible for obtaining necessary rights, licenses, or permissions from the appropriate companies and/or individuals regarding any other uses of reproductions provided by the Library. The question of legal rights is a matter that should be pursued by the user of the photograph with an attorney who specializes in copyright law. An information sheet on photograph rights is available upon request.

*Note: Except for Academy Awards® or other Academy-related photographs, and those in the Sanford Roth, the Alan D. Hunter, and the Nat Dallinger collections, the Academy does not claim legal rights for publication of photographs in its collection. The Academy Awards® images are provided by the Library for private research purposes only. The Library is not authorized to grant any other rights. Before ordering images, please visit http://www.oscars.org/press/clip-request for additional information. Rights to reproduce or publish these images may or may not be available from the Academy and the Library shall not issue a refund once an order is placed. An additional license fee may be assessed for publication or other commercial use of Academy Awards® photos, depending on the intended category of use of the photographs.


Contact

Photo Archive
Margaret Herrick Library
333 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Beverly Hills CA 90211