Frequently Asked Questions
Can I reproduce an object from one of the Library's digital collections?
Do I need any specialized software to use your digital collections?
How do I access digital library collections from off campus?
I am a member of the Brown University community, and would like to work on a project with the CDI. How do I go about doing this?
I believe the information provided for one of your digitized items is incorrect or incomplete. I can provide additional information. Whom should I contact with more information?
I have additional materials that relate to a digitized collection that I'm willing to sell/donate/loan to you. Whom should I contact?
When I look at some of your collections, particularly the sheet music, it looks as if you've digitized duplicate items. Why?
Can I reproduce an object from one of the Library's digital collections? [^]
Yes. Please note that while the majority of the objects in our digitized collections are in the Public Domain, you still need to receive permission from the Library to re-publish (in print or digital form) the digitized versions. Application forms are available at http://library.brown.edu/about/hay/reproduction.php.
Do I need any specialized software to use your digital collections? [^]
Generally not. For the most part our objects are browser-ready. Some collections contain audio and video materials that do require a media player on your workstation.
How do I access digital library collections from off campus? [^]
Most of the materials digitized by the CDI are in the public domain and are freely available both on and off campus. Certain materials are restricted to campus users, and to use these you will need to authenticate yourself via the proxy server or the campus VPN service. For more information on authentication, please see the Library's off-campus use page at
http://library.brown.edu/libweb/proxy.php.
I am a member of the Brown University community, and would like to work on a project with the CDI. How do I go about doing this? [^]
I believe the information provided for one of your digitized items is incorrect or incomplete. I can provide additional information. Whom should I contact with more information? [^]
You can email our metadata team at
metadata@brown.edu. Please include the URL for the object as well as your suggested corrections.
I have additional materials that relate to a digitized collection that I'm willing to sell/donate/loan to you. Whom should I contact? [^]
If you mail the CDI staff at
cdi@brown.edu, we can forward your inquiry to the curator in charge of the source collection.
When I look at some of your collections, particularly the sheet music, it looks as if you've digitized duplicate items. Why? [^]
In digitizing the various collections available from the CDI, we decided to include variant issues of the materials. In the case of sheet music, the variation often occurs through the placement of photographs of different performers on the cover art, or by including different materials on the back cover. In other collections the variation may be a different publisher, year of publication or other printing differences. All of these variations are important to researchers studying these materials.
