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| Line of Locks,
Genista, https://www.flickr.com/photos/genista/64830141/sizes/l
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The genesis for this post was a question posted in a Facebook group back
in September (unfortunately, I didn’t happen to note which one and try as I
might, I cannot re-find the original post.
If you participated in this thread or recognize the post, please drop a
comment and I’ll add in a link).
It started when Allison Graves posted a link to Alabama
state attorney: Photographing public records for free is ‘stealing’ which
starts out by stating ...
In what would appear to be a case of government run amuck, at least two state agencies in Alabama
Allison queried Judy G Russell (The Legal Genealogist) and that got the comment ball
rolling.
I, for one, don’t necessarily expect records, even public records, to
necessarily be free – especially given that there are real costs to preserving
said documents. In North Carolina
For
uncertified copies, agencies may not charge fees that are higher than the
actual cost of making the copy. “Actual
cost” is defined as “direct, chargeable costs related to the reproduction of a
public record as determined by generally accepted accounting principles.” The law does not give examples of actual costs but it does say that actual cost may not include costs the agency would have incurred if the copy request had not been made. That means that under most circumstances, fees may not include the labor costs of the agency employees who make the copies. However, if making the copies involves extensive clerical or supervisory assistance, the agency may charge a special service fee in addition to actual duplication costs.
This definitely holds true for the State Archives of North Carolina where you pay $.10 or more (dependent on format of copy – paper copy, digital copy, etc) for any copy made by them and there is no cost for you to photograph records. In fact, you are required to photograph any
“bound” volumes as they are not available to be copied (though one may request
digital reproductions for a fee).
That said, and because I have enjoyed this aspect of doing research in government entities in NC, if the budget of the community already encompasses those costs, then I, as a taxpayer, think can have some expectation to be able to photograph such for free. Though,
that assumes I can directly access the desired records with no assistance. If assistance is needed, then it does seem
reasonable that a fee might be involved.
Back to the Facebook post – some comments told of not being able to take picture of public records in WV or in county courthouses in New York State
Feel that access to public documents in your community is too
restrictive? It’s not too early to start
planning to participate in Sunshine Week, March 15-21, 2015.
What do you think? Should you be able to freely photograph
public records?
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