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Terms and Conditions

 

Use of Plugins


The first time that you use an area of our site that requires animation software, such as "Flash" or "Shockwave," you may see an invitation to go to the software manufacturer's web site so you may download software needed to view the animation on our web site. This prompt occurs because we can tell whether your browser has the needed capabilities provided by these plug-ins. We do not use "cookies" to do this, nor do we read anything on your computer other than your browser's capabilities. We do not endorse or guaranty anything about the product that you may download from a manufacturer's web site. If you choose to visit the manufacturer's web site to obtain the plug-in, please carefully review their policies for details about personal privacy and use of their software.


Disclaimer of Endorsement


Reference to specific commercial businesses, products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, on any web site administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or by the National Archives. Recognition of commercial businesses, institutions, and organizations mentioned on any web site administered by the National Archives that relate, for example, to our development initiatives and partnerships does not imply endorsement by the Government.


External Links


We provide links from our web pages to external web sites because they provide information that may interest our customers. This is provided as a convenience only. External links do not constitute an endorsement by the National Archives of the opinions, products, or services presented on the external site, or of any sites linked to it. The National Archives is not responsible for the legality or accuracy of information on externally linked sites, or for any costs incurred while using externally linked sites. External links are intended to support NARA’s mission. They are not intended to support private or commercial organizations or businesses. Links to .org, .gov, .edu, .mil or other non-profit site that share historical and documentary interests inherent to NARA’s mission are encouraged because of their general non-commercial, public-interest nature. Links to .com, .net, and other commercial domains are acceptable if supportive of customers’ needs and relevant to NARA’s mission. NARA can not support a volume or constant update of changing links that exceed the agency’s resources for this maintenance. In cases where NARA links to external web portals, parties that wish to be included among the portal's links should contact the owner of the portal. Links to external web sites may be removed if the web sites lobby or solicit the Federal government on positions of fiscal or political nature, or if they receive funds or revenue for volume of traffic delivered from NARA to the external site where the site is not an official partner of NARA. NARA reserves the right to review links and add or remove links at any time for any reason consistent with Federal policy or NARA guidance. Except for partnerships, NARA does not agree to reciprocal link arrangements, when NARA must link to an external site if that site will link to NARA.


Copyright, Restrictions, and Permissions Notice


  • Generally, materials produced by Federal agencies are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. However, not all materials appearing on this web site are in the public domain. Some materials have been donated or obtained from individuals or organizations and may be subject to restrictions on use.
  • You may consult our reference staff for details on specific items. We are aware of donor restrictions applicable to our collections, but we can not confirm copyright status for any item. We recommend that you contact the United States Copyright Office at The Library of Congress to search currently copyrighted materials.
  • Please note that because we cannot guaranty the status of specific items, you use materials found in our holdings at your own risk.
  • Images on our web site which are in the public domain may be used without permission. If you use images from our web site, we ask that you credit us as the source. Please note that some images on our site have been obtained from other organizations. Permission to use these images should be obtained directly from those organizations.
  • Links may be made to our web site from other personal and organizational web pages. We request that you link to our site rather than downloading portions of it to another web server, so that our viewers will see our most up-to-date information.
  • Certain individuals depicted may claim rights in their likenesses and images. Use of photographs or other materials found on the National Archives' web site may be subject to these claims. Anyone who intends to use these materials commercially should contact the individuals depicted or their representatives.
  • It is possible that our site will provide you an opportunity to go to a software manufacturer's web site so you may download a related plug-in that will enable your browser to show you a part of our web site. This prompt occurs because our system can tell whether your browser has the needed capabilities provided by these plug-ins. Our system does not read or place anything on your hard drive when recognizing your browser's capabilities. While the plug-in(s) are needed to view some content, you retain control and choice about conducting the download. At the time that we create and post the web pages that require these software plug-ins for viewing, they are provided by their manufacturer for download and use free of charge. We can not guaranty, however, that the plug-in will remain free, or that the manufacturer will not collect personally identifying information about you when you elect to download the software from their site. If you choose to visit the manufacturer's web site to obtain the plug-in, please carefully review their posted policies for details about personal privacy and use of downloaded plug-ins.

Copyright Restrictions upon Materials in our Holdings


Items found in our holdings may be copyrighted. Please note that it is your responsibility to identify the copyright owner and to obtain permission before making use of this material in any way.


Information Surety


We recommend that you acquire information describing the services and products of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) directly from National Archives' official web sites, because other, non-NARA sources may not be able to maintain accurate information pertaining to our programs. We work hard to ensure the information provided to you is accurate and complete. However, it is possible that information may change prior to updating. We welcome your suggestions on how to improve our home page and correct errors. Please use the information on this web site based on your evaluation and analysis of any risks. It is your responsibility to ensure that the information you use (including software, images, audio files, artwork, and documents) are free of any violations of intellectual property rights. Some of the documents on the server may contain live references (or "pointers") to information created and maintained by other organizations. The National Archives does not control and cannot guaranty the relevance, timeliness, or accuracy of the outside materials. Because we do not know how you are using information found on our web site, we do not make any express or implied warranties about the information contained in this web site for your particular use. Except as to segments of this web site specifically identified as authoritative guidance, we disclaim these warranties to the full extent provided by state and Federal law, including, but not limited to the warranties for merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement of proprietary rights. All indirect, consequential, implied, punitive and special damages are deemed waived if you use the information on this web site in any manner. The vast majority of information presented through web sites administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), are not documents of record. Please note that authenticity of information can be confirmed only by examining the "record" version. If you have questions about the authenticity of a document, please contact the owner of the page that concerns you, or you may contact us.


Virus Protection


We use virus protection software on our computer systems and regularly update the software. This is a computer security measure that, in addition to maintaining our computer systems, also ensures that all files that we develop and/or post on our web servers are virus-free. When you request a file for download from our site, it is possible, though unlikely, that the data may contract a virus and become corrupted before it reaches your computer. The National Archives and Records Administration is not responsible for files that may become corrupted as the data travels the Internet.


Security


For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this Government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring and is advised that if such monitoring reveals evidence of possible abuse or criminal activity, such evidence may be provided to appropriate law enforcement officials. Unauthorized attempts to upload or change information on this server are strictly prohibited and may be punishable by law, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996.