The Library of Congress, like many cultural heritage organizations, faces a number of challenges as it seeks to increase discovery and use of its collections. A major concern is making historical and special format materials easier to find in order to be useful for educational and other pursuits. At the same time, resources are limited to provide detailed descriptions and historical context for the many thousands of items in research collections. The Library also faces competition for the attention of an online community that has ever-expanding choices of where to pursue its interests.
One solution worth exploring is to participate directly in existing Web 2.0 communities that offer social networking functionality. Reaching out to unknown as well as known audiences can attract more people to comment, share, and interact with libraries. Taking collections to where people are already engaged in community conversations might also encourage visits to a library’s Web site where the full wealth of resources are available.
To begin to address these issues, ... [a] small team developed a pilot project that could be rapidly implemented with limited resources. The formal Library of Congress strategic goals to expand outreach and improve the user experience shaped the primary objectives ...
Once the popular photosharing Web site Flickr was selected as a venue that would meet the Library’s requirements, the pilot team contacted Flickr to discuss its available rights statement options--none of which was appropriate for the Library’s content. These discussions began the collaboration that resulted in the launch of The Commons, a designated area of Flickr where cultural heritage institutions can share photographs that have no known copyright restrictions to increase awareness of their collections. Flickr members are invited to engage with Commons collections by describing the items through tags or comments. A growing number of libraries, museums, and archives, intrigued by the possibilities of this model, have followed the Library’s lead and launched accounts within the Commons framework.
Two collections of historical photographs were made public on a Library account on the Flickr photosharing site in January 2008. The response from Flickr members and observers of the pilot was overwhelmingly positive and beneficial. The following statistics attest to the popularity and impact of the pilot: [Note: omitting statistics.]
This project significantly increased the reach of Library content and demonstrated the many kinds of creative interactions that are possible when people can access collections within their own Web communities. The contribution of additional information to thousands of photographs was invaluable. ...
Concerns about loss of control over content will continue to be discussed but can also be mitigated. ...
The Flickr team recommends that this experiment in Web 2.0 become an ongoing program with expanded involvement in Flickr Commons and other appropriate social networking opportunities for non-photographic collections. The benefits appear to far outweigh the costs and risks. ...
Posted by
Gavin Baker at 12/15/2008 06:30:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
