U.S. Libraries and Archives need to take a look at the British Archives.
Once digitized and placed online, people can purchase a copy for $1 or
$1.50 per page.  There are different ways to collect revenue.  If you
charge a decent price, they will purchase online and you won't see the
number of folk bringing their digital cameras and scanners.  Keep the price
decent, make sure the images are minimum 300 dpi, put a watermark on the
document or photo, for personal use.  If they want to use for publication,
then charge $35 per page with proper citation.
With gas prices, travel and lodging is just not an option for a lot of
folk.  So that means that these facilities need to make digitizing their
priority, making it available, and being able to draw revenue, at the same
time.
Karen


On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 8:06 PM, Craig Kilby <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Ditto. We at Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library have struggled with
> this issue too. Our current policy is a $20 flat fee to "have at it" for
> digital scanners, though we will retain discretion of over just what and
> how much they can scan. It really needs to be taken on a case-by-case
> basis. Most people are only interested in their own particular family line.
> Some, however, have been so greedy as to want to scan entire books, or
> series of books (say, oh, Sparacio) and then put it all out on the web.
> That is a SERIOUS problem, and we say NO.
>
> We are in the process of scanning all of our over 1,000 family files on
> how to charge patrons from them. By page? (you would pay 25 cents per page
> for copies) or should a file that has been scanned in its entirety just
> have a flat fee? (Some have one page, some over 100 pages). Should we make
> them available as a hyperlink to anybody who wants them? (We could of
> course, but that takes time too. And how do we replace lost revenue for
> doing it? We are very much in the "uh, we're thinking bout it" mode)
>
> Also, no loose file is ever stagnant. This causes a problem when a file
> has already been scanned, and then there is new material to be added to it,
> and so the list of things to be scanned and updated piles up before it can
> be cataloged. The list of issues goes on and on (other than a title, most
> of our family file descriptions are useless. This can't be fixed until we
> come with up a policy of just what we HAVE in those files).
>
> This is a VERY timely thread and I thank Brent for bringing it up. I know
> our ED, Karen Hart, has been struggling with and seeking input from her
> colleagues around the Commonwealth, and there seems to be no universal
> answer, much less policy. But we have really not come to any firm
> conclusions on how to deal with this, and all input is very welcome.
>
> Craig
>
> Volunteer, Mary Ball Washington Museum & Library, Lancaster, VA [That on
> the Northern Neck = Chesapeake Bay area. I add that because too many of our
> colleagues look like deer in headlights when you answer the question,
> "Where are you located?" -- not to worry, we are equally guilty of points
> anywhere West of Richmond. I remember at meeting at VFH where one of my
> group had to literally get up out of her chair and go to the map of
> Virginia that was conveniently laying against the wall, hike it up, and
> say, "OK. This is the Northern Neck." So trust me, I understand if you
> don't have a clue where I am not talking about. And just to drive home my
> point, the Northern Neck of TODAY is NOT the Northern Neck Proprietary of
> Yesteryear.
>
>
> On May 22, 2013, at 2:07 PM, MCPS wrote:
>
> > Really good article. Thanks for posting, Brent.
> > With every gain, we also lose.
> > -Melinda Skinner
> >
> > Sent from Melinda's
> > iPad
> >
> > On May 22, 2013, at 9:11 AM, "Tarter, Brent (LVA)" <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> >> This article in the New York Times should interest everybody who does
> historical research of just about any kind.
> >>
> >>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/science/new-research-tools-kick-up-dust-in-archives.html?pagewanted=1&tntemail0=y&_r=1&emc=tnt
> >>
> >> Brent Tarter
> >> The Library of Virginia
> >> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> >>
> >> Please visit the Library of Virginia's web site at
> http://www.lva.virginia.gov
> >>
> >>
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