Participation & Use
Martin Digital History (MDH) will be borrowing items for digitization from community members and local organizations and including them in an online catalog.
Participation Basics
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Digital image must be gifted for free use
- To participate in this project, individuals who loan items to the MDH for inclusion in the project must be willing to formally gift the digital image of the item to Martin County. No remuneration will be made to the loaning individual or agency now or later. While the donor will be acknowledged in the online presentation (if you so choose), we cannot always control its use by patrons, and the loaner must acknowledge that Martin Digital History and Martin County, its employees, agents, or representatives are not responsible for this use.
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Items will be returned
- Objects in custody that are abandoned (held for more than 6 months with no response to attempts to communicate) may be donated to an appropriate institution in accordance with all applicable laws.
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No new boxes or conservation treatments provided
- Items will be stored while at the MDH office in a secure location. However, while we can advise patrons on how to best store and preserve their historical materials, we unfortunately cannot offer conservation treatments or rehousing at preservation standards.
Other important points:
- If an item loaned to the MDH does not support research in the history of the Treasure Coast, it may not be included in the project. Unfortunately, we do not have the staff to support a scanning service, but we can often make equipment available for the patron to use for this purpose. Click here to view our collection policy.
- MDH will not knowingly acquire or exhibit artifacts that have been stolen or removed from commercially exploited archaeological or historic sites.
- Martin County staff, trustees, committee members, and volunteers do not provide appraisals of historical materials. Those interested in an appraisal should consult a reputable appraiser; a list is available from the International Society of Appraisers (https://www.isa-appraisers.org/).
- The staff of the MDH are not copyright experts. However, whenever possible, a good faith attempt has been made to ascertain the copyright status of items available in this project. Items that may be copyrighted will be marked as “in copyright,” and if a user wishes to include an item in a publication, the burden of permissions is passed to them. MDH will use best efforts to make such determination of copyright status but bears no responsibility for such determination and specifically waives liability for all claims, liabilities, losses and causes of actions in connection therewith.
- Martin County is committed to collecting, presenting, and including material from all our citizens, to more accurately represent the full history of the region. We recognize that diversity, equity, and inclusion are key values for a fair society, and will strive to include historical materials from all communities, and to describe the items respectfully. Additionally, we are endeavoring to make our digital spaces more accessible to all; if you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access any digital content, please let us know.
Support Martin Digital History
Use of images
Digital images featured on Martin Digital History are free and available to all, available for download from the site. Permission is granted!
We welcome the use of MDH's materials. For a higher resolution, watermark-free digital image, contact the archivist, Georgen Charnes at gcharnes AT martin.fl.us
Copyright Restrictions
Online collections are provided by Martin Digital History are from various donors. They are provided here solely for personal study, research, and teaching. Copyrights on the majority of online items are chiefly held by the creators, often unlocatable or unidentified. Copyright is generally not owned by the relatives of the photographer, the subject of the photo, or an owner of a copy of an image. Sometimes the nature of the materials means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine, despite reasonable efforts.
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish reproductions of copyrighted works. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
All items included in Martin Digital History were acquired in good faith, and each donor signed a Deed of Gift in which they relinquished their rights to materials. Users of material from Martin Digital History shall indemnify, save and hold harmless Martin County, its officers, employees, servants and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses and causes of actions including claims, liabilities, losses and causes of action which may arise from the use, publication, and reproduction of the photographs or images of materials provided by donor to Martin County and/or the performance of services hereunder. Nothing herein shall be construed as a waiver of Martin County’s sovereign immunity, the provisions of Section 768.28, Fla. Stat., nor consent to be sued by third parties.
Credit
Proper credit lines are encouraged in the interest of good documentation. Examples of preferred credit lines:
- From the collections of Martin Digital History, Thurlow/Ruhnke Collection.
- Courtesy Martin Digital History.