Common Challenges,Common Solutions

2nd Strategic Briefing

Europeana Commons

Cyprus, October 30th 2012

Merete Sanderhoffmerete.sanderhoff@smk.dk

@MSanderhoff

My motto:

“The preservation, transmission, and advancement of knowledge in the digital age are promoted by the unencumbered use and reuse of digitized content for research, teaching, learning, and creative activities.”

Memo on open access to digital representations of works in the public domain from museum, library, and archive collections at Yale University

May 2011

http://odai.yale.edu/sites/default/files/OpenAccessLAMSFinal.pdf

…why should they care?

Why an Art Commons?

”…what does it mean that there are millions of images on the web that we are not allowed to touch while at the same time there are other millions of images that we can actually use?”

Peter Leth, Creative Commons For All (in Danish only), 2011

@peterleth1

http://www.creativecommons.dk/?p=537

What are common challenges?

• Rapid technological change

• Silo culture – high maintenance

• Charging for digitized images

• Relevance to new generations of users

What could be common solutions?

• Working together in networks/hubs

• Using shared/existing platforms

• Providing free and easy access to digitized images and data

• Listening to and engaging users

Pilots since 2009

• Save money

• Lighten administrative burden

• Create synergies between collections

Take leadership

http://www.googleartproject.com/collection/statens-museum-for-kunst/

Access is not =

to sharing

Michael Edson, Director of Web and New MediaSmithsonian Institution

@mpedson

http://www.smk.dk/en/explore-the-art/the-royal-collections/free-download-of-art-works/

http://www.smk.dk/en/explore-the-art/the-royal-collections/european-art-1300-1800/highlights/andrea-mantegna-christ-as-the-suffering-redeemer/

http://www.kdcs.kcl.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/USMuseum_SimonTanner.pdf

"Like other museum institutions SMK is used to being seen as a gatekeeper of cultural heritage. But our collections do not belong to us. They belong to the public. Free access ensures that our collections continue to be relevant to users now and in the future.

Our motivation for sharing digitized images freely is to allow users to contribute their knowledge and co-create culture. In this way, SMK wishes to be a catalyst for the users' creativity." 

Karsten Ohrt, Director, SMK

http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/collectie/SK-A-2344/het-melkmeisje

”Our primary mission is to ”tell the truth.”

Lizzy Jongma, data manager

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

@LizzyJongma

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Johannes_Vermeer_-_De_melkmeid.jpg

Pushing out poor copies

Enriching public knowledge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Milkmaid_(Vermeer)

http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProjekt_Maleri/158_highlights

How an Art Commons?

3 principles

1. All Public Domain content is freely shareable and reusable under Creative Commons

2. We use an existing platform that users like instead of custom-building a new one

3. Target users take part in developing the experience and creating the content

• Artworks have individual #

• Comments are <140c

• All users are equal and have names and faces

• It is multilingual

• Comments lead to richer content

• The platform is dynamically updated and improved

And perhaps most importantly…

Twitter works as a Commons

How will it work? • Stand in front of an artwork in a museum

• Pull out your smartphone or tablet

• Scan a QR code or enter the URL

• Scroll through a stream of brief comments and questions, open links to related images, texts, videos etc. (anyone can do this)

• Post a comment, question, add a link, photo, video etc. (you need to be a Twitter user to do this)

• Maybe you get a response – if you direct a question or comment to a museum tweep, you certainly will!

Objective

Objective

Inspire usersto look closer

at the artworks

Testing the concept

Paper prototyping

Follow up survey

Focus group discussion

Lowering the barrier of

• System maintenance

• Content creation

• Participation

• Joining the network

What’s next?

A common framework and infrastructure

• Open licensing

• Shared platforms

• Distributed ownership

• Democratic dialogue

http://www.formidlingsnet.dk/sharing-is-caring-2012-program

Read moreAbout the shared mobile pilot project• Open GLAM

http://openglam.org/2012/10/23/the-participatory-museum-of-denmark/ • Swedish Exhibition Agency

http://www.riksutstallningar.se/content/spana/curating-and-participation-new-mobile-platform?language=en

• MuseumNext 2012 http://vimeo.com/45705253#at=0

About SMK’s free charter collection• CC GLAM wiki

http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Case_Studies/Highlights_from_SMK,_The_National_Gallery_of_Denmark

About Public Domain and open licensing• Public Domain and Image Sales References

http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Public+Domain+and+Image+Sales+References