Understanding Access Classifications in the Church History Catalog
There are four access classifications for digital assets in the Church History Catalog. These classifications allow us to provide efficient access to Church History collections while also accommodating our library access policies. To help you understand these classifications and how to request access to different classification types, we have prepared this article.
Access with No Restrictions
Collections in the Church History Catalog that have an image thumbnail and no colored header are visible to all patrons immediately, and there are no restrictions on downloading and using the material. Simply click on the image or “Digital” button to view the images in our viewer.
Items that are designated this way are generally either in the public domain or are Church owned and have been reviewed and approved for general access.
Access with a Copyright Restriction
Collections that appear with a yellow bar and triangle have a copyright restriction. This means that there is a copyright holder other than the Church, but the material does not have commercial value. Because of the copyright restriction, we ask that patrons log in using their Church account and acknowledge that they are looking at copyrighted material through a pop-up notification. Patrons are unable to download these materials and must request permission before publishing them in a journal article or book. For more information on publishing images or other materials from the CHL, please see Preparing to Publish.
Access with a Request
Collections that are available for public research but have not been evaluated for online access will have a blue prompt to “request digital access.” Clicking the link will take you to a short form to submit a request. Requests are processed quickly, and access should be granted within one business day. Access is given through your Church account, typically for a 60-day period. You will receive a link via email that will take you directly to log in and view the images. These items are not available for download, as they have not been evaluated for copyright, privacy rights, or any other kind of protected content.
Access Is Protected
Collections labeled in the catalog as “Protected Access” require a consultation visit with our staff, a formal access request, and approval from the Church History Library.
These collections have either not been reviewed or are at high risk for containing sacred, private, or confidential information as described in our Access Policy. If you have any additional questions, you can also discuss the collection with a research consultant via our Ask Us online service.