Archives at NCBS: Access and Use Guidelines
Rev 6: Feb 17 2026
Thank you for your interest in the Archives at NCBS!
Section 1: How to find and view material
Visit our catalog!
A note on access to digital copies of archival material at the Archives at NCBS, and on user reproductions of archival material:
In its capacity as an academic and educational centre, the Archives at NCBS may make digital objects available online for open viewing and research purposes. The Archives at NCBS makes no representation that it is the copyright owner in all of its collections. Any user of the Archives at NCBS who wishes to make reproductions for their work is responsible for reviewing Conditions Governing Use (see Section 3) and obtain all necessary rights and clearances from rights holders before use of material. Users can also review exemptions available under the Copyright Act. A guidebook for Archives, Ethics and Law in India is available here: https://milli.link/ethics-law/. If you are the rightsholder or a representative of the rightsholder and would like to restrict access to any digital object displayed, we'd be happy to work with you and request you to please reach out to us via our takedown page: https://archives.ncbs.res.in/takedown
Levels of access
The Archives at NCBS has four levels of access for its collections. Note that many archival objects will have associated digital objects on the catalog, and you may not need to visit the Archives to view material! Do find the level of access and digital objects, see the image below from one of the folder entries in the Archives at NCBS.
Explanation for Levels of Access / Conditions Governing Access:
Level 1: Online: This material is available to view directly online (see, for instance, numerous collections listed at https://archives.ncbs.res.in/featured-collections). To go to the digital object, click the icon adjacent to the folder in the catalog as highlighted in the image above. This material does not require a researcher request for viewing. However, please remember that this is for open access/viewing. Reproductions or publishing may still require the user to get permissions from the copyright holder of the material (see Section 3 of the Access Guidelines).
Level 2: Available upon request: If a digital object is not available (and you do not see the digital object icon), you may make a request via our online researcher access form that can be downloaded from the Resources Section on our About Page: https://archives.ncbs.res.in/about. Most of the collections have digital copies on our internal server. If the requested folder has a digital file that can be shared, we will provide this using a temporary online drive link. As much as possible, we aim to provide access to digital copies of material instead of the physical material (these digital copies also allow the researcher to search through most of the printed text, if it is in English). All requests have to be submitted (signed submissions, either by email or in hard copy) using the online form linked to on our Access page. The turnaround time for requests can be up to 48 hours.
Level 3: Restricted: Occasionally, we may provide only restricted access due to donor rules, sensitivity of the material, or on-site access because the folder may not have a digital copy. Please see Section 4 of the Access Guidelines for in-person visits.
Level 4: Embargoed: This material has an embargo for current access, due to various reasons including sensitivity, donor conditions, or fragility. Please see Section 5 of the Access Guidelines for our policies on digital or physical access to our archival collections.
Please note that as of Feb 2026, not all collections at the Archives at NCBS will list the access level for each folder. Patrons can always send a researcher request form (See Section 2 of the Access Guidelines) if an access level is not visible. We are systematically developing these access levels to be uniformly applied across our collections and request your patience while we work through this. For an example of a collection with all levels outlined, please review the Ravi Sankaran Papers
Section 2: Research viewing requests
For those archival objects that do not directly have associated digital objects on the catalog (and/or listed as "Available upon request" or "Restricted" in the Conditions Governing Access), please filll up the Researcher Application form that can be downloaded from the Resources section of our About page (https://archives.ncbs.res.in/about). Email the signed (digital is fine) PDF file to archives@ncbs.res.in
The application form needs the archival record identifier, which is in bold, and in the top section of the catalog page. For instance, refer to the identifier, MS-012-1-1-1-7 for the file on correspondence between MB Krishna Rao and Leslie Coleman on April 4, 1952. We share the naming convention below to help researchers understand records at the Archives at NCBS. But this knowledge is not necessary to make requests!
MS-012-1-1-1-7
MS: Manuscripts
012: 12th manuscript collection at Archives at NCBS - Leslie Coleman Papers
1: Series number (Correspondence)
1: Sub-series number (Letters to Leslie Coleman)
1: Box or container number or location
7: Folder or sub-container number
If you are able to come in person, we can share the physical material with you. If you are not able to come, we will set up an online drive to give you access to the material. This gives you access to view the material similar to other digital objects on our website, but it does not give permission to reproduce the material or quote from it.
Section 3: Conditions Governing Use
As a general policy and if you are unsure, please fill up this 'Material Use' form (https://archives.ncbs.res.in/sites/default/files/NI-007_0014-2_Material_Use_Form.pdf) that can be downloaded from the Resources section of our About page (https://archives.ncbs.res.in/about). Email the signed (digital is fine) PDF file to archives@ncbs.res.in. We can then inform you about the conditions governing use.
Starting in 2026, the Archives at NCBS is rolling out folder-level guidelines for use of material. Here is one collection where this has been published, Krishna Bahadur and S Ranganayaki Papers
The following conditions govern the reproduction, publication, and public display of materials held by the Archives at NCBS. For every folder in our collection, we aim to assign a specific group, which determines the usage rights for the material it contains.
Determining "Non-Commercial" Use
Any use is generally restricted to non-commercial use, encompassing personal, educational, or research purposes where the material is not marketed, promoted, or sold. For further clarity, please consult:
- Creative Commons: Defining Non-Commercial
- Smithsonian Collections Policy
Group A: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike)
You may copy, share, and remix the material for non-commercial projects. A "remix" includes translations, collages, or films that build upon the original.
- Share-Alike: Any derivative work must be distributed under this same license.
- Attribution: Clear credit needs to be given to the Archives at NCBS and the original creator.
- Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Group B: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives)
You may copy and share the material for non-commercial use, but you cannot change it.
- No Derivative: The material must remain in its original form. You may not crop, edit, or remix it.
- Attribution: Clear credit needs to be given to the Archives at NCBS and the original creator.
- Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Group C: Contact the Archives at NCBS (Rights are Managed by the Archives at NCBS)
The Archives at NCBS holds the license to authorise use.
- How to Use: Formal written permission must be sought via the Material Use Form, available at the following link, https://archives.ncbs.res.in/sites/default/files/NI-007_0014-2_Material_Use_Form.pdf
- Privacy & Sensitivity: Items containing sensitive information may require additional review.
Group D: Copyright not determined/Third-Party Rights –User Responsibility
The Archives could not determine the copyright status. Rights may either belong to the creator, their heirs, or an external organisation.
- Requirement: Permission must be sought directly from the rights holder. While the Archives may provide contact information when available, obtaining clearance is your responsibility. You acknowledge and assume all legal risks associated with potential copyright infringement, privacy, and publicity rights.
Group E: Unavailable for reproduction
- Donor Restrictions: Some items are under a contractual "embargo" and remain unavailable until a specified date.
- Legal/Ethical Constraints: Certain materials are restricted to protect individual privacy or honour the agreement with the donor.
Reference Sources & Global Standards
Our policies are developed in alignment with global archival practices and intellectual property frameworks.
Institutional Policies & Standards
- Society of American Archivists (DACS)
- Smithsonian: Rights and Reproductions
- HathiTrust: Access and Use Policy
- The National Archives (UK): Providing Access to Archives
- MIT Archives: Conditions Governing Use
Copyright & Legal Frameworks
- SAA: Copyright and Unpublished Material
- SAA: Selected Copyright Resources
- WIPO: Copyright Exceptions – An Archivist’s Perspective
- Harvard Berkman Klein Center: Copyright for Librarians (Rights & Limitations)
- UNC Libraries: Music Research & Copyright
Section 4: Visits in person to the Archives
We'd love to host you! The Archives at NCBS is open between 10 am and 5:30 pm, Mon to Fri (weekends and holidays by appointment). We can be reached +91-80-6717-6011. As of 2026, the NCBS campus has implemented a registration system for campus entry that aims to streamline repeat visits. For visits to view the archives or exhibitions or archival material, please send us an email (archives@ncbs.res.in) with your intent and/or researcher application form at least three days before the first date when you wish to come to campus. Before arrival at the archives, please do glance through the Researcher Application form that can be downloaded from the Resources section of our About page: https://archives.ncbs.res.in/about
While there's no limit to the number of folders you can see, the archives issues five folders at one time to the researcher's desk. Only pencils are allowed at the researcher's desk. Where we have digital copies of the archival material, we may only offer access to the digital files. Ask us if you need digital copies for reference and do avoid taking photographs with phones in a way that might damage the material.
Section 5: Our Policy for Online Access to Digital Objects
The Archives at NCBS aims to make much of its archival material freely accessible online while also being attentive to the legal and ethical concerns of donors and rightsholders. Some objects on our site may not be accessible digitally and will state that they have 'restricted access'. While this is not an exhaustive list, here are some of our broad policies for making material accessible to the public through digital objects:
1) We aim to comply with any legal restrictions imposed by donors in their Deed of Gift or Consent Forms, or any copyright restrictions that may have been established on third-party published material.
2) India's Public Records Act (1997) allows for public records older than 30 years to be made available to the public through national and state archives. For a lot of our archival material from private donors, we try and align with this Public Records Act and provide access to digital copies of records that are older than 30 years and without sensitive information. This is applicable to most correspondence and administrative documents, and third-party documents across collections.
3) The following kinds of records will typically have restricted access. Users can still make direct requests with the Archives at NCBS and these will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis:
(a) Any third-party material that has explicit directives on it for restrictions (like some archival cartographic material)
(b) Audio-visual material that includes sensitive content relating to humans
(c) Records that the Archives at NCBS appraises as containing sensitive content (like some contact information, recommendation letters)
(d) Records with content that the Archives at NCBS feels would harm the rights of indigenous, vulnerable or marginalised communities.
(e) Financial, medical or legal records that have been appraised to have archival value, but with sensitive content
We routinely update our catalog entries and by the end of 2026, we aim to add embargo periods for Level 4 files in most of our collections. The Archives at NCBS recognizes that there are still circumstances where some digital material may be removed from public access. If you know of specific circumstances that apply to any of our archival material, please visit our Take Down Policy page and help us in ensuring fair access to material: https://archives.ncbs.res.in/takedown
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Page revision notes:
Rev 1: Original
Rev 2: Updated visiting guidelines
Rev 3: Updated access policy for digital objects
Rev 4: Added guidelines and images for finding material
Rev 5 (Nov, 2025): Updated Section 1 note on viewing and using material
Rev 6 (Feb, 2026): Updated Conditions Governing Use
