CFR > Title 36 - Parks, Forests, and Public Property > CHAPTER XII—NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION > SUBCHAPTER C—PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND USE (parts 1250 to 1258) > PART 1254—USING RECORDS AND DONATED HISTORICAL MATERIALS > SUBPART D—Microfilming Archival Materials (§1254.90 to §1254.110) > 1254.102—What requests does NARA not approve?

1254.102—What requests does NARA not approve?

(a) We do not approve any request that does not include all of the information we require in §§ 1254.94 and 1254.96.
(b) We do not normally approve requests to microfilm documents that:
(1) Have previously been microfilmed and made available to the public;
(2) We have approved for microfilming by another party; or
(3) We plan to film as a NARA microfilm publication or which relate closely to other documents previously microfilmed or approved for microfilming by NARA. We may grant exceptions to this provision at our discretion.
(c) We normally do not approve requests to microfilm documents:
(1) Having restrictions on access that preclude their reproduction;
(2) Known to be protected by copyright;
(3) Having high intrinsic value that only authorized NARA personnel may handle;
(4) In vulnerable physical condition;
(5) Having a high research demand and which we would have to deny to others for an extended period of time during the microfilming process. Where possible, we assist you in developing filming schedules that avoid the need to close documents for a lengthy period of time; and
(6) In formats, such as oversize documents, bound volumes, and others, that would be subject to excessive stress and possible damage from special equipment you plan to use, as well as documents fastened with grommets, heavy duty staples, miscellaneous fasteners, or wafers and other adhesives that cannot be removed without tearing or breaking documents.
(d) We normally do not approve requests from persons or organizations that failed to produce usable microfilm or to honor commitments they made in previous requests, or for whom we have had to rescind previous permission to microfilm documents because of their conduct.
(e) We do not approve requests to microfilm records in NARA facilities in which there is insufficient space available for private microfilming. We do not permit private microfilming in our records storage (stack) areas.
(1) Federal agencies microfilming records in support of the agency's mission may use the space set aside for private microfilming. Agency microfilming takes priority over private microfilming when there is insufficient space to accommodate both at the same time.
(2) When a NARA facility does not have enough space to accommodate all requests, we may schedule separate projects by limiting the time allowed for each particular project or by requiring projects to alternate their use of the space.
(3) We also do not approve requests where the only space available for filming is in the facility's research room, and such work would disturb researchers. We do not move records from a facility lacking space for private microfilming to another NARA facility for that purpose.
(f) We do not approve requests to microfilm records when there is not enough staff to provide the necessary support services, including document preparation, training of private microfilmers, and monitoring the filming.
(g) We do not approve the start of a project to microfilm records until you have agreed in writing to the amount and schedule of fees for any training, microfilm preparation, and monitoring we must conduct that is necessary to support your project. Our letter of tentative approval for the project includes an agreement detailing the records in the project and the detailed schedule of fees for NARA services for the project. We give final approval when we receive your signed copy of the agreement.