Regulations on taking photographs of material in the ancient archives

Users may take photographs of the ancient archives with their own camera, as long as the conditions remain conducive to the proper preservation of the material in the heritage collection.

Before taking any photographs, the date the document was published and the date its author died must be verified: under current legislation, certain material is subject to copyright law.

Before taking any photographs, users must:
• check that the item cannot already be consulted online, either using numelyo, Lyon’s digital library, or in another digital library (Gallica, Google Books…). If possible, use pre-existing reproductions;
• ask library staff who, depending on the condition of the item and its binding, will either give permission for the photography or not. For valuable items in the reserve, permission must be given by ancient archives curators.

Photography conditions and the use of flash photography

• The camera and any accessories used with it must not damage the document. Flash photography is not permitted.
• Documents are kept on sloped surfaces designed specifically for them, in the best possible conditions to ensure they are properly preserved, using material provided by the library (book futons, book snakes)
• Photography is not permitted at reading tables.
• The number of photographs is limited to thirty per document. This number may be reduced depending on the condition of the document.

You may only take photographs for publications if copyright laws do not apply. If this is the case, users agree to include a reference for the document which has been reproduced, in the following format: Lyon municipal Library + precise call number, and to provide the library with a precise bibliography reference for the publication or the URL address where it can be found. A form setting out this agreement is available at the ancient archives reception desk.

Documents from the Michel Chomarat collection

The Michel Chomarat collection is a private collection held at Lyon municipal Library. Article 12 of the agreement made in 1992 between the City of Lyon and M. Michel Chomarat stipulates that "prior written agreement must be obtained from Monsieur Chomarat for any photographic reproduction, partial or complete, of a piece held in this archive".
To this end, users must either provide written authorisation signed by M. Michel Chomarat, or fill out a written request on site addressed to M. Chomarat.

Material in Lyon’s Franco-Chinese institute archives

Those documents in the Chinese archives which come from the Lyon Franco-Chinese institute (IFCL archives) are subject to particular regulations: anyone wishing to use reproductions of these documents (whether for a presentation, a dissertation, a book, a blog, a website, on social media, for an exhibition, etc.) must send a detailed written request to the manager of the Chinese archives. This request must be jointly authorised by the latter and by the contributor to the archives.
Documents from other archives within the Chinese archives are subject to the general regulations covering the ancient archives.