More than 5 million photographs and 30 kilometers of archival records protected by the Royal BC Museum’s BC Archives are now more accessible.
Museums no longer charge licensing fees for commercial use of provincial archive materials.
“This change brings us in line with other leading archives and museums around the world,” said Emma Wright, director of archives at the museum. “It helps support writers, artists and filmmakers who create and share engaging content about British Columbia’s story.”
People who want to use photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, maps or documents for publication, film or television production or for personal use will now only need to pay a processing fee.
“These costs include the cost of digitizing and storing records, as well as staff time required to prepare and share copies with clients,” the museum said in a statement.
The new licensing structure is now in effect.
“We’re really excited that by lowering our fees, more people will be able to find and use these materials,” Wright said.
The original licensing program, launched in 1995, gave the BC Archives the power to approve and grant non-exclusive licenses for the use of archival records.
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Royal British Columbia Museum Victoria