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Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation

Research and Imaging Services

Rachel Hunt founded Hunt Botanical Library with the intention that it would conduct its own program of research while making its collections available for research by others. Hunt Institute remains committed to making its research collections accessible to the scientific and scholarly communities, publishers, businesses and the interested public by providing research assistance and imaging services.

The Institute reserves the right to refuse requests that in its opinion constitute inappropriate use or could result in damage to the original due to the fragile condition of an artwork, book, manuscript or portrait. Acceptance of all orders is subject to staff workloads. Any relevant fees are discussed in advance of provision of services. Please review the information below and then contact the curator in the relevant department for specific queries.

Research services

Curators in each of the departments provide general assistance to the public by researching specific questions, topics or images, and may be engaged to provide more extensive research assistance. For such assistance that would require a significant amount of staff research time, a fee or fees will apply. Please contact the curator in the relevant department for further information.

Imaging services

Our curators also coordinate requests for digital reproductions of artworks, book illustrations, manuscripts and portraits for research purposes or publication. When you request a digital image, our curators will ask a number of questions. The guidelines below will give you an idea of the information they will need. Please specify to the curator how you plan to use the images. If you are requesting images for publication, you may first want to contact your publisher or editor for image specifications. 

PDFs for research purposes

For research purposes we will provide low-resolution PDFs in 30 business days via email. These PDFs are for personal research purposes only and cannot be used for publication or for long-term archival purposes. PDFs may be subject to copyright restrictions. If you decide to publish the image, contact us for the publication-quality version and a permission application. The cost will be reduced by the amount already paid for the research image.

  • 1–10 pages: $9.00
  • Additional pages: $0.50/page

Image resolution, format and size

For publication-quality versions, we will reproduce all images at a resolution of 300 dpi, which is the standard for publishing, in JPEG or TIFF file formats and in grayscale or color (RGB or CMYK).

Image delivery

Publication-quality images will be sent as email attachments if the file size is not larger than 15 MB. Arrangements can be made to deliver larger images.

Permissions and publication fees

Hunt Institute requires a permission application to be completed for publication of images from its collections. The application lists the image(s) being reproduced, describes the proposed use and lists the conditions under which permission would be granted for the use of the image(s). The Institute also requires a credit line for providing the image and one free copy of the publication in which the image was used.

A publication fee is charged, although it may be waived for non-profit uses.

  • $90 per image per use for a first edition/article/electronic use (includes books, journals, magazines, online journals, Web sites, electronic exhibits).
  • $45 per image per use for reprints, translations or auxiliary published materials such as a teacher's edition Web site or CD that accompanies a printed publication.
  • $90 per image per use for new editions and new uses.

No re-use fee is charged for simultaneous publication of a single edition in multiple media. Non-print uses are handled on a case-by-case basis. Fees for other uses quoted on request.

Payment for services

A pro forma invoice will be sent via mail or email. Services must be paid for in advance. The Institute accepts payment via telephone, mail and fax. Payment is in U.S. dollars only. We do not accept bank transfers. Check and money-order payments must be mailed. We accept MasterCard and Visa. Credit-card payments may be phoned, mailed or faxed. Email and email attachments are not secure methods of submitting credit-card information. Your order will be shipped upon receipt of payment.