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HomeAerial Photography Service FAQ
- Phase 1: 1 photo per decade
- Phase 2: about 2 per decade or 5-7 year intervals
- Phase 3: all available imagery. (excluding high altitude or same year photos)
- You may store your images indefinitely, derive new data from them, and give the photos to your own clients. We understand that copies of the photos are included in environmental assessment reports and other research products. We do not consider this to be 'publishing' the photos.
- If you would like publish a photo in a book or online, please contact the MAP Librarian to negotiate a publication license for our imagery.
- While the photographs are yours to do with as you please, the University maintains copyright over the electronic versions and some of the source imagery. We never sell copies of photographs to which we do not hold the rights to do so.
The Collection
Where did the photos come from?
The MAP Library began building its aerial photography collection under Ed Thatcher, the original UO MAP Librarian, but developed the collection most strongly under Peter Stark in the late 1980s through the end of the 1990s. The original intent was, and still is, to support the teaching and research programs of the University of Oregon. The images were mostly gifts from the Oregon offices of federal agencies, as well as state, county, and municipal agencies. Some photographs were also purchased from commercial vendors.
Why can't I use the collection directly?
The Air Photo collection contains more than 500,000 individual frames of imagery from more than 1000 individual flights. Most of these images are irreplaceable. Due to the complex structure and historic nature of the collection, we must restrict access to staff only.
Research Requests
Why does it take 3-5 days to fill a request?
We fill about 35 requests per week. While we process the requests in the order that they are received, we have to adjust our time based on the availability of student helpers, filling academic requests for air photos, and performing other library-related work. We would never be able to fill each request as it comes in. While we strive to return requests in 3 business days, as the volume of requests waxes and wanes, we may occasionally require those extra 2 days.
Why can't I give you a township/range or a tax lot number?
This information certainly helps, but the photographs are indexed on planimetric maps that frequently do not show township/range. Tax lot boundaries, in addition to not being visible on a photo, vary widely through time. When you request a photo, your site is identified on a contemporary map, which is then matched to the historic indexes, which is then matched to individual photos. Looking up tax lots and PLSS coordinates would greatly increase the time it takes to identify a site and therefore increase your costs.
What's the best kind of map to provide with my request?
A USGS 1:24,000 topographic map or an image from an online map service such as MapQuest works best. We have a web page of good examples. Please make sure to provide us with some context around your site. Sometimes it is helpful if you send maps at 2 different zoom levels. And please: if you send a portion of a USGS Quad, make sure to tell us the name of the sheet in case we need to look at our copy.
What's a 'Phase 1' request?
Many of our customers are working on environmental assessment reports for land purchases or development permits. We have adopted this terminology from them:
Fees
Why do most Phase 1 requests (1 photo per decade) cost the same?
A typical Phase 1 request is $70, and a Phase 2 is $95. Detailed information about our fees is on the Public Research Requests page. These amounts have been calculated based on how long it takes to initiate a research request, how long it takes a trained worker to find the photographs, and how long to scan each photo. We then added a small amount of time to account for refiling materials after their use. Because an inexperienced worker may take longer to do research or scanning, we felt it would be best to come up with a base time for typical requests. We NEVER pass on the cost of training new workers to our customers.
Why might a Phase 1 request cost more?
Anything that complicates a request will add time to it, and ultimately we are charging for the time of our labor. Indeed, we are required to do so. Incomplete request forms, hard to read maps, and changes to requests mid-stream are all issues that may result in additional charges. Also, some requests are simply more difficult to fulfill than others-forested lands in particular are hard to research and may require an extra charge.
What happens to the money?
Because 90% of this scholarly resource's use comes from non-academic users, we must recover the costs associated with these requests. Fees cover a portion of staff salaries, supplies for storing and maintaining the collection, and computer equipment used to scan and deliver the photos. We do not profit or subsidize other library services with the service fees. Because of the non-profit nature of the operation, our fees are considerably less than commercial air photo providers.
Photos
Can you give me more information about a photo?
Standard requests come with the year embedded in the file name. Exact dates and scales are sometimes available, but there will be a small charge for including the information-typically not more than $30 for a Phase 1.
What can I do with my photos?
Digitization of photos -- Scanning Resolution and ground pixel dimension
When we scan aerial photos from the collection the resulting pixel ground dimension (the equivalent size/volume of the pixel on the ground) varies because of the differing scales of the photos in the collection. Below is a table that provides pixel ground dimension for the most common scales and the most common scanning resolutions we provide.
Last Modified: 05/05/2008