LibraryLaw Blog: What the University of Arkansas controversy can teach us about archival permission practices

"The Arkansas case study demonstrates that archival “permission to publish” is a practice that is both poorly understood and which can be detrimental to the donor, the repository, and the researcher. Following this standard archival procedure, as the University of Arkansas suggests, is not "good business practice...[that] makes operations run smoothly."  It is time for repositories to get out of the "permission to publish" game and leave permissions to the copyright owner...."