The Library

Use of Scripps Archives Materials

  • Search for Materials: Scripps Archives does not offer a research service. If feasible and based on our assessment, we may do a short quick lookup search to facilitate an inquiry. Researchers are expected to look through the copious materials we've put online, and specifically, the online folder list(s) for prospective collections of interest. Make notes on collections and respective boxes/folders of interest.
  • Duplicating Materials when you visit: Scripps Archives users should make their own copies using a digital camera or a flatbed scanner available in Scripps Archives. If you intend to use the scanner, bring a USB stick to transfer your scanned images. Some materials, audio/video/film, and photographs are protected by copyright law, which affects use of these materials; this will be taken into consideration. In providing copies of material in its collections, Scripps Archives does not thereby grant permission to reproduce or quote from the material for publication, unless that permission is explicitly sought by the requestor, and received from the archivist. Researchers assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or publication rights.
  • Still Images: Thousands of our images are available online as JPEG images. We also hold these images as higher resolution TIF images. We have  tens of thousands more images in archival  collections that are not digitized and online.
  • Use or Review of Materials: Researchers may wish to reproduce, publish, use, or quote extensively from materials in the Scripps Archives, whether text, images, audio, film, or video material. Researchers may wish to review media items.
    • Requests to publish/use materials are submitted via a Request for Permission to Use SIO Archives Materials form. A licensing agreement is required for the use of material from the Scripps Archives in books, journal articles, magazines, websites, films, broadcasts, and any other media or avenue of publication. 
    • Images are identified by a Digital Oject URL. To get that, go to the scrippsarchives.ucsd.edu site, scroll down to IMAGES / PHOTOGRAPHS, and then click on SEARCH OUR DIGITIZED PHOTOS. For each image of interest, click on the thumbnail image, and then click on that image's FULL DETAILS tab. Scroll down in the underlying window to see that image's identifying DIGITAL OBJECT URL, which is entered on the Request form.
    • Scripps Archives cannot counsel researchers on the application of copyright law. Permission to publish or use is offered subject to the following conditions: Scripps Archives usually grants one-time non-exclusive rights for publication/use in a single product. Granting permission to publish or use does not transfer copyright, nor does it remove the researcher’s responsibility to guard against infringement of the copyrights that may be held by others.
    • The UCSD Library may charge a fee for use of material by those outside the UC community. Fees may apply to the use of images, facsimiles, film/video, and audio; there is no fee for publishing brief transcribed quotations. A use fee is independent of any additional costs that the holder of copyright may choose to levy, and this fee is in addition to any duplication costs associated with preparing. We do not sign licenses that indemnify and hold the user harmless from and against any and all claims, etc. We will consider licensing for perpetual use in any format.
  • Credit: Please use the following credit line when publishing our archival content: Scripps Institution of Oceanography Archives, UC San Diego Library. If that's too long, use: UC San Diego Library.
  • Questions: Contact the Scripps Archives Curator, Peter Brueggeman at pbrueggeman@ucsd.edu