Using Digital Collections
What's in the Digital Collections?
The University of Houston Digital Collections represents digitized and born-digital objects from our library and Special Collections. It includes selections of works from our physical and digital holdings and is not comprehensive.
UH scholarship, including theses and dissertations, are available in Cougar Research Open Access Repositories (Cougar ROAR).
The University of Houston’s A/V digital collections are currently available in the Audio/Video Repository.
Check out the Archives and Finding Aids for more information on UH Special Collections’ full holdings.
Searching and Browsing
To get started, try searching using keywords or begin browsing Images, Texts, and Collections.
When browsing all items or reviewing search results you can narrow your results using the facets - or characteristics - under the “Limit your Search” heading. You can sort items by relevance, title, date of the item, or recently added.
When browsing items in a collection or reviewing search results in a collection, you can sort items by relevance, title, date of the item, or recently added.
More About Digital Objects
On each digital object page, you can view the item and a brief description, and see and do much more.
By clicking on the linked words, or facets, on the item page, you can find other digital objects with the same term in that particular field. For example, clicking on “Houston, Texas” in the Place field will retrieve all other items in the Digital Collections with “Houston, Texas” in the Place field.
Provenance indicates the UH Libraries branch or collection that the item comes from. By clicking on this linked text, you can find all other digital objects from that provenance collection.
If you want to link to the digital object, use the permalink. This is a persistent link that will always direct you to the correct digital object.
The “View in finding aid” button will take you to the archival context from which this item came in Archives and Finding Aids. This can give you useful information about the collection, its creators and context, and other items in the archival collection.
Full Metadata gives you a complete description of the item. If you have more information about an item or corrections to suggest, please submit them via our Feedback Form. For more information about Digital Collections metadata check out our Metadata Application Profile.
“Related Items” shows links to other digital objects that are related in some way to the item. For example, it may be that a single digital object is part of a larger work, or the digital object is part of a series of correspondence.
What Can I Do With Digital Objects?
Copyright
The University of Houston Libraries has made a concerted effort to determine the copyright status of each item in the Digital Collections for the convenience of users. Copyright information is provided in the Rights field below each item. Many items in the Digital Collections are in the public domain and may be used freely. Others are protected by copyright. In some cases, due to the nature of historical materials, the Libraries has not been able to determine the copyright status of particular items.
Users may download any material in the Digital Collections for their personal use or research. However, items which are under copyright may not be reused in publication without permission from the copyright holder. This applies even in cases where copyright status is undetermined by UH Libraries. Users assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or related rights and must abide by current copyright laws when accessing and using items from the Digital Collections.
For more information about copyright, please see the UH Libraries Copyright Guide.
The following rights statements are used in the UH Digital Collections. Please refer to the full descriptions for more information about the rights status of Digital Collections items, or click the links below to see detailed information from RightsStatements.org.
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Public Domain: This item is in the public domain and may be used freely. |
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No Copyright - United States: This item is in the public domain in the United States and may be used freely in the United States. The item may not be in the public domain under the copyright laws of other countries. |
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In Copyright: This item is protected by copyright. Copyright to this resource is held by the creator or current rights holder, and the resource is provided here for educational purposes. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without permission of the copyright owner. Users assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or related rights. |
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Rights Undetermined: This item may be protected by copyright. UH Libraries has been unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. Users assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or related rights. |
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In Copyright - Copyright Owner Unlocatable or Unidentifiable |
In Copyright - Copyright Owner Unlocatable or Unidentifiable: This item is protected by copyright. Copyright to this resource is held by the creator or current rights holder; however, for this item, either (a) no rights-holder(s) have been identified or (b) one or more rights-holder(s) have been identified but none have been located. Users assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or related rights. |
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In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: This item is protected by copyright. Copyright to this resource is held by the creator or current rights holder; however, you are free to use this item for educational purposes without obtaining permission from the rights holder(s). For other uses, permission from the rights-holder(s) is required. |
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This item may be protected by copyright. UH Libraries has not yet determined the copyright status of the item. Users assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or related rights. |
Request for Takedown
University of Houston Libraries makes every effort to ensure that it has appropriate rights to provide access to content. Where possible, UH Libraries secures rights to use works that are in copyright. Those who wish to contest the use of specific works should complete the Takedown Request Form. Upon receiving a request, UH Libraries staff will:
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Promptly acknowledge the request, and suppress access to the digital object(s) during the review period.
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Assess the validity of the request. For both copyright infringement and privacy concerns, UH Libraries may work with the University of Houston's Office of the General Counsel to make determinations about appropriate use.
- Upon completion of the assessment, we will take appropriate action and communicate that action to the requester.
Rights and Permissions for University of Houston Material
Material created by the University of Houston or its employees is protected by copyright. These items are listed as "In Copyright" in the Rights field below each item, and the Rights Holder is identified as University of Houston.
Permission to use University of Houston material in publication, for commercial and non-commercial uses, can be requested through the Division of University Marketing and Communications. Fill out the Intellectual Property Use Permission Form and submit via email or fax, according to the instructions given on the form. For further assistance, please contact Bethany Scott, Digital Projects Coordinator, bscott3@uh.edu.
Download
For many digital objects, downloads are freely available
Some digital objects are available as image files. You can download various sizes of each file by clicking one of the download sizes under “Download options.”
The sizes typically available for download are:
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Small, 400 px
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Medium, 800 px
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Large, 1200 px
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Original, full size
Some digital objects are available as PDF (Portable Document Format) files. There is only one download size option for this type of object. To download the PDF, click on “Original” under “Download options.”
Download options for some objects are restricted due to copyright. For more information or to submit a request for copies of a restricted item, please contact Bethany Scott, Digital Projects Coordinator, bscott3@uh.edu.
International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF)
For most digital objects available as image files, you can easily retrieve the IIIF manifest for an object by clicking on the IIIF icon. IIIF is a set of specifications that makes it easier to use, annotate, and share images. For more on IIIF, visit the IIIF website.
Citing Digital Objects
When using a digital object in your work, it’s good practice to cite it. A basic citation of Special Collections materials follows this format:
[Item identification, name of collection]. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.
A more detailed citation may be required depending on the citation style used. Archival materials used in your research should be cited with complete and accurate information, including elements such as:
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Title
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Creator
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Date
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Provenance Collection (e.g. Mary F. Lopez Papers)
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Physical Repository (e.g. University of Houston Special Collections)
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Digital Repository (University of Houston Digital Collections)
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Permalink
Citation format depends on the citation style selected by your instructor, the publication you are submitting to, or the discipline you are working in. Consult the most recent edition of your style manual for the proper formatting, or our citation styles guide for general information.
Chicago/Turabian
Creator. “Title,” Date, Container, Provenance Collection, Physical Repository, Location. University of Houston Libraries Digital Collections, permalink.
Example:
Beste, Peter. “Bun B and friends in Port Arthur,” 2006, Box 2, Folder 8, Peter Beste and Lance Scott Walker Houston Rap Collection, Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries, Houston, Texas. University of Houston Libraries Digital Collections, https://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/2015_008/item/20
MLA (Modern Language Association)
Creator. Title. Date. Container. Provenance Collection. Physical Repository, Location. University of Houston Libraries Digital Collections, permalink.
Example:
Beste, Peter. Bun B and friends in Port Arthur. 2006. Box 2, Folder 8. Peter Beste and Lance Scott Walker Houston Rap Collection. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries, Houston, Texas. University of Houston Libraries Digital Collections, https://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/2015_008/item/20
APA (American Psychological Association)
Creator. (Date). [Title]. Provenance Collection, Physical Repository, Location. University of Houston Libraries Digital Collections, permalink.
Example:
Beste, P. (2006). [Bun B and friends in Port Arthur]. Peter Beste and Lance Scott Walker Houston Rap Collection, Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries, Houston, Texas. University of Houston Libraries Digital Collections, https://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/2015_008/item/20