Image Permissions & Requests
The Library considers its extraordinary collection of books, maps, and prints an inalienable resource that has been protected and curated for nearly two centuries, but it also understands the value these sources have for potential audiences throughout the world. Digitization has made sharing the collection easier than ever before, allowing us to adopt an open access policy that will help our materials reach anyone who is interested in using them.
Every item in the JCB digital collections—Luna, Americana, and Social Media—is licensed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0). This means that you are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
As long as you give appropriate credit (we kindly ask you to use the following credit line: "Courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library") and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No prior request is necessary, but the JCB would appreciate knowing about your publication or receiving complimentary copy of the published version of your work (see below).
If you intend to use an image from JCB digital collections for commercial purposes, the license described above (CC BY 4.0) still applies. You are free to use our digital items as long as you give appropriate credit ("Courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library").
No prior request is necessary, but the JCB would appreciate knowing about your publication (or scarf, notebook, handbag, or other inventive creation).
Quite often, publishing houses, journals and editors require that authors provide a written permission for image use. If that is the case, please send us an email and we will process your request. In return, we kindly ask you to send us a copy of the published work.
We would deeply appreciate if anyone using items from JCB's digital collections would send a complimentary copy of their final published work to:
Digitization & Image Requests
The John Carter Brown Library
94 George Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02906
USA
Images downloaded from Americana currently come in one size. If you would like more control, you can download images of different sizes from Luna:
When looking through images and maps on Luna, look for the grey 'Export' button on the right upper side of the frame. If you click this button, you can download the item in the size that would best suit your needs, from a small thumbnail to an extra-extra large option.
We're sorry, but currently we are unable to process external digitization requests (we're working on this).
The John Carter Brown Library is committed to digitize its entire collection of over 50,000 books related to the history of the Americas between the late 15th to the early 19th century — and make it freely accessible to scholars and audiences around the world.
As the JCB does not charge for image licenses, it relies solely on donations and gifts from our constituents to fund our digitization program. Please consider making a donation and help the JCB to make this noble aspiration come true!