Use of images is sometimes covered by the right of "Fair Use," especially for teaching and learning purposes. See the College Art Association's page on Intellectual Property and The Arts for more information.
Digital images in the ACDC, ARTstor, Bridgeman Education, and Oxford Art Online databases are subscribed to by the library for the Amherst academic community for use in teaching, study, and research. Amherst College students, faculty, and staff may use these images for in-class presentations, as well as papers, assignments, and some senior theses without obtaining permission. Some images provided by online sources are free to use as well. Images should always be cited (see the "writing & citing" tab in this guide).
Unless an image is in the public domain, inclusion in a published or commercial work or a non-Amherst-password-protected website may require permission from the copyright holder.
Use of Images in Senior Theses
Senior honors theses are considered publications. Use of images in theses is sometimes covered by the right of "Fair Use." See the College Art Association's page on Intellectual Property and The Arts for more information, or contact the Library with questions.
Many of Amherst's digital images available through library databases may be printed in your thesis without requiring any special permission from the publisher. These include:
ACDC
Look for the "Rights Information" at the bottom of each record in the Art & Architecture Collection, or the "Access and Use" information in the Archives & Special Collections and Emily Dickinson Collection.
There are many images in ACDC that you may use in your thesis without requesting permission:
If the rights information or access and use statement says "public domain" or "out of copyright," the image may be freely used in senior theses. It is not necessary to request permission to use these images, but be sure to properly cite the image(s).
All images that list “ “ as the rights holder may be freely used in senior theses.
For other images in ACDC, you may need to request permission from the publisher or copyright holder to reproduce/print the image, unless you determine that your use of the image meets"Fair Use" exception to U.S. copyright law.
ARTstor
All images in ARTstor may be freely used in senior theses. It is not necessary to request permission to use these images, but be sure to properly cite the image(s).
Bridgeman Education
Images in Bridgman Education may be freely used in senior theses. It is not necessary to request permission to use these images, but be sure to properly cite the image(s).
Oxford Art Online
You must request permission from the publisher or copyright holder to reproduce/print images from Oxford Art Online in your thesis.
If you need additional help determining whether or not an image is copyrighted or in the public domain, or seeking permission to use a copyrighted image, contact a subject librarian, or make a research appointment. More more on proper use and permissions, see Amherst College's Intellectual Responsibility and Plagiarism page.