ONLINE ARCHIVE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Most of your questions about how to use the Online Archive will be answered in the following FAQs. If you don’t find an answer to your question here, please e-mail us at [email protected].

Q. What payment methods do you accept?

A. We accept VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and PayPal for digital downloads and print purchases.

Q. Why are there so many different prices for the same photo?

A. Actually, the cost of the photo download itself is determined by the resolution of the file. Lower resolution files are less expensive and higher resolution files are slightly more expensive. The variety of prices is due to the particular license that comes with each image download. There is no license fee for personal, nonprofit, and media uses, while commercial uses, such as for broadcast or advertising use, require a license with a fee appropriate for the commercial use.

Q. How do I determine the correct use and license type?

A. For digital downloads, usage and license type are determined by the type of user and how the image will be used, as follows:

  • Personal Use: For students, teachers, researchers, and other individuals wishing to use the selected images for their own use. Personal uses DO NOT include any use that involves selling the image or making a profit. Most personal uses are non-public, like: research, display in a private home, use in an album or scrapbook, gift-giving. However, there are also acceptable personal uses that are public, including:

  • student projects at any level of education, including theses and dissertations that will be deposited in an institutional repository;

  • classroom use by educators (but not including publication of textbooks or other curriculum products);

  • presentation at a conference or professional meeting, including presentations done for a small gratuity (but the use of the images by professional speakers or trainers is considered a commercial use);

  • illustration on a personal website or use on personal (not group or organizational) social media pages;

  • use as inspiration for completely new artwork; and

  • use by artists in original works of art (but merchandising or selling reproductions of art that includes Bethel Woods Collection images is considered a commercial use).

  • Nonprofit Use: Use of the selected images by a nonprofit or tax-exempt organization. The organization using the images must be registered as a nonprofit or tax-exempt organization under its own state or federal law. If it is requested, the organization must be able to provide documentation demonstrating their status. Any money made from the publication, display, broadcast, etc. must go into the accounts of the nonprofit organization and not to any individual, corporation, or other organization. Common nonprofit uses include: 

  • use of an image in a nonprofit publication (print or electronic book, newsletter, journal/magazine, etc.);

  • public displays, exhibits, or presentations; 

  • film or TV broadcast;

  • merchandise items (calendars, postcards, etc.); and 

  • online use via organizational web pages and/or social media accounts.

Note: If a commercial user is working for a nonprofit on a for-hire basis, the nonprofit can request/order the use permission free of charge.

  • Media Use: Media and publishers who promote regional tourism in or about the Sullivan County/Catskills, Hudson Valley, or New York State may use Bethel Woods Collection images in the course of promoting their projects that provide information about Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, The Museum at Bethel Woods, or regional tourism.
     
  • Commercial Uses: Use of the selected images in any public manner by any entity that is not governmental a tourism media outlet, or a registered nonprofit or tax-exempt organization. Common commercial uses include:

  • film, TV, or online broadcast;

  • merchandise items;

  • public display in an exhibit or as part of the decor in a public space like a lobby, office setting, etc.;

  • online use via traditional web pages, social media accounts, etc.; and

  • advertising. 

Q. What resolution should I download?

A. Photos can be downloaded at three resolutions: Low Res (1 megapixel), Medium Res (3 megapixel), and High Res (5 megapixel). The high res files are suitable for printing at 11x14 or even 16x20; the medium res files are suitable for printing at about 8x10; and the low res files are suitable for online, e-mail, or web use or for printing at about 4x6.

Q. Why can't I order larger print sizes for some photos?

A. Some of the photos in the Bethel Woods Collection were donated to the museum as scans, and some of those scans are not at high enough resolution to produce high-quality prints at larger sizes. 

Q. What format will my downloaded image be in?

A. Downloaded photo files are saved in .jpeg, high quality format at the selected resolution (see "What resolution should I download?" above). Downloaded video files are saved using the H.264 codec so they may be viewed on all major platforms.

Q. Why are some photographs in the Bethel Woods Collection not available in the Online Archive? 

A. There is a legal difference between owning a photograph (a physical print or slide or a digital image file) and having the rights to publish, distribute, or sell a photograph (copyright). While The Museum prefers to receive donations of photographs and motion images that include all rights, sometimes the photographer or other copyright holder grants only limited rights. In such cases, we cannot post those images in our Online Archive or offer them for sale or use. They may, however, be viewed at The Museum collections office with prior arrangement, and The Museum may (and often does) use them for public exhibition.

 

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