Digitization Policy for Tribal Nations and Indigenous Communities

Requests for free digital copies of materials related to American Indian and Indigenous studies must be made by:

• Officials (e.g. Tribal Historic Preservation Officers [THPOs], tribal archivists, tribal librarians) of tribal nations (in the US or Canada) or Indigenous communities (outside of the US)

• Indigenous-led organizations or institutions whose requests are related to their work with Native people and communities

• Researchers who can provide appropriate documentation noting that they are working at the behest of a tribal nation or Indigenous community

Herein, the above will be referred to as the “requesting party.”

The Newberry will freely make available to the requesting party copies of any of our materials related to American Indian and Indigenous studies, subject to the following conditions:

• The library will honor any restrictions placed on materials by THPOs or similar officials when determining access. In some cases, documentation (e.g. a signed letter, tribal ID, proof of descendancy) from the tribe or Indigenous community to whom the material can be attributed may be required to access materials that have been restricted for cultural sensitivity.

• Access restrictions may exist for collections containing personally identifiable information to ensure that privacy and confidentiality are maintained. In such cases, the library will adhere to these restrictions and any applicable laws (e.g. the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA])

• Certain collections may have access restrictions imposed by the collection’s donor. In such cases, the library will adhere to these restrictions.

• Some collection materials may be too fragile for digitization or may require additional processing before they can be digitized. In these cases, Newberry staff will evaluate the material and figure out solutions in collaboration with the requesting party. Additional processing may impact the turnaround time for digitization.

• Unless there is something unique about the Newberry Library’s copies of the requested material, Newberry staff will check to see if free and publicly available digitized copies of the material already exist. If such copies do exist, library staff will locate and share links to the existing material with the requesting party.

For requests that will require more than 70 hours of staff time, Newberry staff will ask the requesting party to indicate the materials that are their top priorities.

The requesting party can email tribaloutreach@newberry.org to place a digitization request. If you have already located the material, we ask that you provide the name(s) of the collection(s) and/or the call number(s) in your email request, along with which materials are your top priorities for digitization.

Newberry staff are happy to help locate relevant material for digitization. If you’d like staff to assist with your search, please feel free to email tribaloutreach@newberry.org with general topics, questions, or keywords to help guide our search.

Once the request is received, Newberry staff will work with the requesting party to determine an estimated timeline and output. For requests that will require more than 70 hours of staff time, Newberry staff will ask the requesting party to indicate the materials that are their top priorities.

Should a requesting party encounter any items they believe are culturally sensitive, we ask that you let library staff know so we may act in accordance with our Access to Culturally Sensitive Indigenous Materials policy.

The Newberry will work with THPOs or similar officials to make determinations on an item’s cultural sensitivity. Officials may elect to apply Traditional Knowledge (TK) labels to Newberry materials. In accordance with the policy, Newberry staff will not restrict access to or assign protocols to materials without consultation with a THPO or similar official designated by the tribal nation or Indigenous community.

The Newberry wants to serve as many tribal nations and Indigenous communities as possible in this work. Therefore, we ask that the requesting parties identify the materials that are their top priorities within their request. If needed, we will fulfill all outstanding top priorities first before moving onto material indicated as lower priority.

Newberry staff utilize a range of specialized camera and scanning equipment to fulfill requests. Digital files are typically provided as PDFs or TIFFs, depending on the physical condition of the items and the quality requirements of the requesting party.

Audiovisual materials will require specialized processing. Therefore, they are outsourced to external partners. The following file types are available for audiovisual materials:

• Video: AVI, MP4

• Audio: MP3, WAV

Once processing is complete, files are delivered via one of the following methods, depending on the size of the order and the capacity of the requesting party:

• Direct download from the Newberry’s Digital Asset Management System

• Electronic transfer via Hightail

• Physical hard drive (available only in specific cases)

While the Newberry cannot provide long-term planning for digital storage or collections management as part of this program, we are happy to assist with referrals. Newberry staff can suggest external consultants or vendors who specialize in moving digital files and descriptive information into other systems—such as tribal archives or community databases—to help ensure your materials remain accessible in the future.

The Newberry is unable to process requests for paper copies of digitized materials. However, Newberry staff are happy to provide suggestions for external vendors who can accommodate printing requests.

The Newberry will share the materials with the requesting party. If applicable, Newberry staff will reach out to additional tribal nations and Indigenous communities to whom the material is related to inform them of the digitization and provide access to the materials.

All digitized material will be stored in the Newberry’s Digital Asset Management System for preservation and backup purposes. Newberry staff will initiate a thorough review of the materials for cultural sensitivity in line with the library’s Access to Culturally Sensitive Indigenous Materials policy. As outlined in the policy, the Newberry will not publicly share or display any items deemed culturally sensitive by THPOs or similar officials designated by the tribal nation or Indigenous community.

Following the review process, materials that are not identified as culturally sensitive will be added to the Newberry’s public-facing digital collections.

Once the digitized files are transferred, the requesting party may provide others with access to the materials at their discretion.

In accordance with the Newberry’s Open Access policy, notification is not required to share these materials. However, when sharing these items in publications, digital projects and collections, or community presentations, we recommend crediting the Newberry Library as the source of the physical material. Including a clear citation acts as a permanent link to the originals, ensuring that current and future community members can always locate and connect with the source materials.