Dear All,
I hope this email finds you well!
Our small university archive is looking to exhibit student work in partnership with a local curator and local museum in town. Most of the works the curator wants to exhibit are letterpress broadsides printed by students on campus during our Summer Writing Program--an annual, international writing intensive that is a requirement for writing students of the school but also open to outside applicants.
Most of the broadsides utilize full poems of other writers' work, both unpublished and published work at the time of creation (1970s-90s). Many of the poems were written by people that were visiting faculty members during the Summer Writing Program.
I have been told by our letterpress faculty and the SWP Director that students worked closely with faculty during the program and were encouraged to ask for permission to letterpress the poems. A few of the broadsides have copyright statements acknowledging the ownership rights of the poet, but many do not.
I was hoping that we could exhibit these student broadsides under 'transformative use'--where the broadside is considered an artistic rendering. We've also been asked to include images of these broadsides in a catalog publication as well, that would be sold. Unfortunately, I have received pushback from our administration for both the exhibition and the catalog publication out of fear of legal ramifications.
Would anyone have any guidance or resources that would support exhibiting these materials or including images of them in a catalog publication?
Responses on and off list are welcome. Many thanks in advance!
Best,
Jaime
Technical Services and Collections Management Librarian
Liaison to
Archives and Special Collections
Allen Ginsberg Library & Naropa University
Archives
Pronouns: she, her, hers
