Built in America

Rights and Reproductions

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see the Rights and Restrictions Information page for the HABS/HAER/HALS collection.

For general information about copyright and other restrictions, see our Legal Notices.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American Buildings Survey, Historic American Engineering Record or Historic American Landscapes Survey, Reproduction Number (Ex:"HABS,ILL,16-CHIG,33-2")

For guidance about compiling full citations consult How to Cite Electronic Sources on the Learning Page.

To Download or Print Digital Images

Users can download or print images viewed online. The HABS/HAER/HALS materials were generally scanned at a high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes. See Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images; see "How to View" in the American Memory Help section for information about viewing TIFF images. More information about downloading images is in "Downloading and Linking Tips" in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog Help document.

To Order Items For Which Individual Digital Images Are Displaying

The Library of Congress Photoduplication Service can furnish copies of various types (see below for contact information).

  • Photographs—All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    1. Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    2. If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings
    1. Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    2. If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    1. Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.
  • Price
    1. See the Photoduplication Service's HABS/HAER Collection Reproduction Services page.

To Order Items For Which Individual Digital Images Are NOT Displaying

  • Processed Materials—Processed materials have a number in the CALL NUMBER field that begins with either HABS, HAER or HALS and a state abbreviation (e.g., HABS,ILL,16-CHIG,33-).
    1. Make note of the Call Number.
    2. Look at the MEDIUM field. If it lists more than one item, the entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
    3. All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
  • Price
    1. See the Photoduplication Service's HABS/HAER Collection Reproduction Services page.
  • Unprocessed Materials—If the CALL NUMBER field includes the phrase "Unprocessed items," or includes an accession number (e.g., DLC/PP-95:AK-5 or [1991(HABS):10]), the materials, with few exceptions, are unavailable.

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