Policies & Standards
Equity Statement for Archival and Special Collections
Library Services at Pittsburg State University is committed to addressing biased or racist language and the erasure of marginalized individuals and communities in the archival and bibliographic description or exhibition of our collections. We try to describe library materials and their creators respectfully, accurately, and with understanding for the communities who use or are represented in the materials. We acknowledge the need for the critical examination of descriptive and bibliographic practices, and that to identify, correct, or contextualize problematic language and expressions is an ongoing and iterative process universal to all libraries and archives.
We recognize that language and cultural expressions evolve. We further recognize archival materials held and exhibited by the Leonard H. Axe Library may contain historic language and images that are considered offensive and/or which marginalize various individuals and communities. Despite the discomfort or pain it might cause, it is important to retain and acknowledge the original biases and societal imbalances inherent in our archival materials. Archival in this context refers to archival collections and rare or unique materials found in a variety of formats, including analog prints, personal papers, photographs, audiovisual recordings, three dimensional objects, and digital materials – both digitized and born-digital.
Reproduction and Use
Information and reproductions are provided for reference use only. Commercial use or distribution of any work on this website is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder. Pittsburg State University holds copyright to selected works featured on this website, for which those rights were granted by the donor, in accordance with U.S. and international copyright laws. Copyright to some material, however, may belong to the authors or their descendants, or may be in the public domain. Requests to reproduce any work on this site should be sent to Digital Archivist & Institutional Repository Manager, Madison Price at digitalcommons@pittstate.edu .
Takedown Policy
Notice to users: The materials on Digital Commons are made available for educational and scholarly use. Leonard H. Axe Library at Pittsburg State University makes an effort to ensure that it has appropriate rights to provide access to content through the Digital Commons repository.
If you are a rights holder and are concerned that you have found material on Pittsburg State University’s Digital Commons repository without your permission and believe our inclusion of this material in the repository violates your rights (e.g. inclusion is not covered by the Fair Use or other exemption to a copyright holder’s rights), please contact digitalcommons@pittstate.edu and include the following:
- Your contact information (email and phone number),
- Exact URL where you found the material,
- Details that describe the material (title, collection name, number of items, etc.),
- The reason why you believe that your rights have been violated, with any pertinent documentation,
- A statement that you in good faith believe that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law, and
- A statement that the information in your notification is accurate and that you are the rights holder or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
Upon receipt of a request, library staff will:
- Promptly acknowledge the request via email or other means of communication if you do not have an email account;
- Assess the validity of the request;
- Upon request, we may temporarily remove the material from public view while we assess the concern;
- Upon completion of the assessment, we will take appropriate action and communicate that action to you.
Further information on library policies, standards, and guidelines can be found on the Leonard H. Axe Library website. Also see the Campus Internet Copyright Policy.
