Digital cameras are revolutionizing special collections reading rooms and the research process, much as photocopy machines did for a previous generation. Reference routines focused on the photocopier are embedded in workflows of every repository; photocopying is accepted by repositories, tolerated by rights holders, and expected by researchers. Now technology is forcing repositories to confront change again. The ubiquity of digital cameras and other mobile capture devices has resulted in researchers desiring and expecting to use cameras in reading rooms. While some librarians and archivists have resisted digital cameras, others have embraced them —and rightfully so. The benefits to researchers, repositories, and collection materials are undeniable.
Lisa Miller, Stephen K. Galbraith, and RLG Partnership Working Group on Streamlining Photography and Scanning, “"Capture and Release": Digital Cameras in the Reading Room,” Copyright Cortex, accessed October 18, 2026, https://copyright-cortex.org/policy-evidence/capture-release-digital-cameras-in-the-reading-room.