Hi, Judy, Your instincts are correct in that the content is owned by the participants, unless as Daniel mentions the agreement transferred or waived the rights. Columbia University’s Oral History program and archives has established widely accepted best practices and has gathered an extensive knowledge base regarding these types of collections. You may want to examine its website<https://library.columbia.edu/libraries/ccoh.html>, and direct your superiors to relevant portions. Good luck! Deena Schwimmer
________________ Deena M. Schwimmer, Archivist Yeshiva University Archives email: dschw...@yu.edu<mailto:dschw...@yu.edu> / phone: (646) 592-4058 / fax: (212) 960-0066 mail: 500 W. 185th St. / New York, NY 10033 / interoffice: MGL – 304 From: Daniel Stuhlman <dstuhl...@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 7:53 PM To: Judy Weidman <jweid...@beth-israel.org>; hasafran <hasaf...@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu> Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] : Would like advice concerning copyrights on Congregational oral histories This may be an contractual issue. What agreements did the interviewees sign? On Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 6:47 PM Judy Weidman via Hasafran <hasafran@lists.osu.edu<mailto:hasafran@lists.osu.edu>> wrote: A collection of oral histories recorded in the 1970s of members of our congregation was posted on our website (with permission). An individual with distant connections to the congregation has taken an interest in the interviews, and has asked to publish poems that "embellish or change the words" of the subjects. My response was permission must be obtained from the interviewees and./or surviving family members, which I thought was a no-brainer. I am up against some resistance from my superiors suggesting she should have free access to (which she obviously does) and ability to use for her purposes freely. I am quite concerned, and would like some advice about how to present this issue about copyright, at the very least, not to mention ethical issues. Any help would be appreciated. Judy Weidman, Congregation Beth Israel, Houston. __ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu<mailto:hasaf...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu> To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu<mailto:galro...@osu.edu> Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list Hasafran@lists.osu.edu<mailto:Hasafran@lists.osu.edu> https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list Hasafran@lists.osu.edu https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran