Obtaining Consent Forms for Photography in Library

One of the most popular hits on this site is this article...so I am moving it up to make it more accessible:

"Laws for Using Photos You Take at Your Library" is of interest to all of us in libraries. See www.infotoday.com/mls/sep08/Carson.shtml

If there is an identifiable person in the photo, you should ask their permission and obtaina signed consent before using it for marketing purposes. If you are using the photo to simply the show the turnout for an event, perhaps with an accompanying article, no permission is necessary. You are not using the photo to promote the library so this falls under the First Amendment rights so no signed consent needed. The law is more lenient toward photos that are used in a newspaper or newsletter--those types of photos fall under "news media" and are considered newsworthy content.

Photos were the subjects aren't identifiable (faces not clearly visible, photo taken from a distance or at back of room) don't require permission to use, of course. I always get a signed consent from a parent/guardian when wishing to use a photo of a child under 18 regardless of how I plan to use the photo.

Greek Organizations + Library = A Good Partnership

A large portion of the third floor at Bracken Library is known as the “Greek floor” because so many members of Ball State’s sororities and fraternities meet there to study and work on projects.

To add color and interest to the walls, we created posters with several sorority and fraternity members shown using resources at the library. The idea went over well with members of the Greek organization, and now it's time to update the posters. We have scheduled a photo shoot for mid-March; we use a large format plotter in-house to create the 24” x 36” posters.

Brittany Blake, a member of Sigma Kappa who also works as an intern with the Office of Student Life, promotes Greek life on the Ball State campus, and she is helping to organize the photo shoot.

“The third floor is a popular area with Greeks,” she said. “I come here with my sisters to work on projects and get things done, and I want to think of ways I can promote the library to others.”