WASHINGTON, October 4, 2021 – Trying to find the right image for a scientific story can be daunting. The American Institute of Physics' Niels Bohr Library & Archives is making it easier to locate that visual impact for a news piece.
More than 28,000 digital images from the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives are available for free to anyone who is searching for historic images of labs and researchers, headshots, and candid photos of physical scientists with their co-workers, families, and friends. The new, searchable location of the photos also houses manuscripts, publications, audiovisual materials, and more from the Niels Bohr Library & Archives.
"We are thrilled to now offer open access to the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives for our researchers and the public, alongside all of our other digitized collections in a single online platform," said Melanie Mueller, director of the Niels Bohr Library & Archives. "I am proud of the NBL&A staff who worked to export, standardize, and migrate the data and digital images of our more than 120 collections of visual materials. It is so exciting to share these amazing free resources with the world."
There are only a few exceptions to the new open-access policy, and those exceptions are part of the "reference only" collection. These photos remain findable on the web, but the NBL&A does not have permission to distribute or share them in any way.
Reporters and outlets should be aware that while many of the images can be shared through the new website, this does not automatically grant copyright permission. Only the rights' holders, where applicable, can grant usage permission and must be secured by the user before it can be utilized.
The NBL&A shares any copyright information they have in the metadata, when available, and are available to help when researchers or outlets have copyright-related questions. The staff can be reached at [email protected].
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