Re: use of picture in school web site

On Tue, 14 Mar 2000, Kathryn Green <kathyg[_at_]value.net> wrote:
>
> I am a K-8 librarian for a school district and a teacher at one of
> my schools recently asked about using a picture from a 1958 book --
> Snails -- by Dorothy Childs Hogner on her school's web site. The
> publisher was Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York. In her attempt
> to find a way to get permission to use of the pictures she searched
> the internet only to find out the book is out of print. From whom
> can she request copyright permission? She was also unable to find
> information on the publisher or author. This may be an issue that
> comes up at other school so any background I can get for this would
> be very helpful. Thanks!

According to Books in Print Online Thomas Y. Crowell is out of business, but they did have an editorial address listed, so perhaps you can get some information from there. The listing didn't indicate if any titles or rights had been procured by another company or not. That address is: 10 E. 53rd St., New York, NY 10022, SAN: 210-5918, Contact(s): Renee Cafiero, Mary William.

I also looked up some information on the author -- I don't find anything published by her after 1977 -- she was most prolific from late 30s until mid-60s. However, some of her other publishers were Lippincott, Oxford Univ. Press, Doubleday, and Thomas Nelson -- perhaps they would have information on who holds her rights. I checked in OCLC and Snails was only published by Crowell -- it might have been helpful if there had at least been a publisher who had reprinted it..

I'm not up enough on the law to know what to do in the case where a publisher no longer exists and where the author is probably deceased. I'm sure someone else can help.

--
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Cynthia L. Peterson, Director of Library Services
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