Copyright Policy

The University of Michigan Library provides public access to a wide range of material, including online exhibits, digitized collections, archival finding aids, our catalog, and a growing range of materials in many media.

When possible, we provide rights information in catalog records, finding aids, and other metadata that accompanies collections or items. However, it is always the user’s obligation to evaluate copyright and rights issues in light of their own use.

For more information about copyright, visit the Copyright Services page. If you have copyright-related questions, e-mail [email protected]. If you have questions or concerns about the library’s use of a work, please visit the Library’s Takedown Policy. 

Public domain

Some materials are not subject to copyright. They are in the public domain, and you do not need permission to use them. For more information about the public domain, consult the Duration and Formalities page of the Library Copyright Office’s Copyright Basics guide. If you use public domain materials from our collections, we request that you indicate that they are held by the University of Michigan Library.

Website content created by University of Michigan Library staff and librarians

Materials authored by our staff and librarians that appear on our website fall under a Creative Commons CC-BY license, and you are free to reproduce or use them, provided you give attribution to the University of Michigan Library. Please note that the CC-BY license does not apply to staff profile photographs, or photographs that contain easily identifiable images of students, faculty, or staff. It also does not apply to materials for which the University of Michigan does not hold copyright.