The contents of Washington Rural Heritage (WRH)—contributed by libraries and their collaborative partners—are publicly available for use in research, teaching, and private study.

All items may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Usage of some items may also be subject to additional restrictions imposed by the copyright owner and/or the holding institution. Transmission or reproduction of a protected item requires the permission of the copyright owner and/or the holding institution. The owner of each item in WRH is identified in the "Contributing Institution" field in the item record. Requests for permission should be addressed to the specific holding institutions.

The nature of historical, archival and manuscript collections often make it difficult to determine the exact copyright status of an item. Whenever possible, the holding institution or repository provides all known information about copyright owners and other restrictions in the information, or metadata, associated with digital items. The holding institution provides this information to assist users in determining the copyright status of an item. Ultimately, however, it is the user's responsibility to use material according to the terms governing its use.

Institutions participating in WRH provide descriptive information for each item digitized to assist users in determining the historical importance and cultural context of an item. In some instances, the holding institution has incomplete information about authors, publishers, or other persons associated with the materials in their collection. These institutions welcome comments from anyone who may have additional information about any of the items in the collection, especially copyright owners who are not properly identified, so that appropriate information may be provided to researchers and teachers in the future.

By their use of these digital images, texts, audio and video recordings, users agree to follow these conditions of use:

• Materials may not be used for any commercial purpose without prior written permission from the copyright owner and/or owning institution. The Washington State Library (WSL) does not have authority to grant such permission. See contact list of contributing institutions.
• Materials may be used for purposes of research, teaching and private study. Please check the item record for the “Contributing Institution” and “Rights and Permissions" to determine who to contact for permissions.
• Credit must be given to the “Contributing Institution.”
• Materials may not be re-published in print or electronic form without prior written permission from the copyright owner and owning institution
• Materials may not be mounted on an additional server for public use, or for use by a set of subscribers without prior written permission from the copyright owner and holding institution.

The institutions with digital collections hosted in WRH provide copyright information as a service to the general public in determining the proper use of an item. Users of this site are ultimately responsible for determining copyright restrictions and for obtaining written permission. The Washington State Library (WSL), a division of the Office of the Secretary of State (OSOS) will not be held responsible for any direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages arising out of or relating to the use of the information and materials linked to or found on this website. If the copyright of an item in a collection is in dispute, WSL/OSOS will remove the digital item from the collection until the dispute is resolved.