If we are committed to meeting user expectations by providing the fullest access possible to our collections, how do we overcome our fears as a profession to confidently navigate a copyright landscape of changing legislation, frameworks, regulatory structures and moral imperatives?

Our presentation will attempt to answer this question by providing both an example of a single institutional approach and a broader view of the sector's practices, in relation to rights clearance. The Glasgow School of Art has recently completed a project to make its collections accessible online, and in doing so undertook a diligent search exercise before making material available. While copyright legislation is an issue all archivists must contend with, making visual arts archives and collections available online has raised unique moral and legal considerations.

This example of institutional best practice, which specifically deals with artistic works, will be contextualised with a broader look at other collection types and approaches to managing the challenges associated with copyright clearance, while making archive collections available online across the UK sector. Emerging principles of good practice in rights management will be illustrated with examples taken from recent case studies with a variety of archive services.

Some of the issues this presentation will discuss include:

How do we, as archive professionals, react to current copyright framework?

What moral implications become apparent during a rights clearance process?

How do we overcome our fear of the law, as professionals, and take measured risks in a confident, pragmatic and informed way?

How do we fulfil our role as recordkeepers while balancing the access expectations of our users against the rights of copyright holders?