GLAM-WIKI 2015/Proposals/Reaching out of the institutional walls - How can a mid-size institution benefit from opening up their collection? A case study

This is an accepted submission for GLAM-WIKI 2015.

Submission no. GW15.1023

Title of the submission

Reaching out of the institutional walls - How can a mid-size institution benefit from opening up their collection? A case study

Type of submission

Presentation

Author of the submission

Joris Pekel

Country of origin

Netherlands

Affiliation

Europeana Foundation & OpenGLAM Network

E-mail address

jpekelgmail.com

Username

jpekel

Personal homepage or blog

http://jorispekel.nl

Twitter username

@jpekel

Facebook url

Abstract

Last year a case study was published about the Rijksmuseum and the effects of them opening up their collection to the world. However, some argue that their model could not be copied by most institutions because of a big difference in size and budgets.

For this reason we looked at a much smaller organisation to investigate how they have worked with their digital collection and limited resources.

We have worked with the Livrustkammaren och Skoklosters slott med Stiftelsen Hallwylska museet (LSH). We will look at the costs they had to make to open up, internal processes, and the results.

Detailed proposal

In the last decade - more and more cultural institutions around the world have started to make their digital collection available in an open way. Hundreds of institutions now make available millions of cultural objects and contribute greatly to the digital commons. At the same time not much has been written about the results of making cultural collections available under open conditions.

For this reason we have started to build a collection of case studies around this topic. The goal is to describe the complete process of an institutions opening up its collection. Here not only the technical and legal aspects are of importance, but also the internal debate and the decisions made.

The first paper was published mid 2014 about the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands. They have proven to be very successful with their digital collection and have gained worldwide fame with their Rijksstudio. However, the study also received critique that this model could not be copied by most institutions. The Rijksmuseum was largely closed during this period which gave a lot of room to work on their online presence. It is also one of the most visited museums in the world and has a considerable amount of resources for digitisation, marketing and copyright clearance. Something that is lacking in most institutions around Europe. It would therefore be difficult to compare smaller and mid-size institutions with the Rijksmuseum and copy their model.

For this reason this paper looks at a much smaller organisation to investigate how they have worked with their digital collection and limited resources. The setup is roughly the same as the previous paper as it explores again the preparation, the decisions taken, the process and the results. Aim of this paper is to serve as an example for smaller and mid-size institutions.

For this case study we have worked with the Livrustkammaren och Skoklosters slott med Stiftelsen Hallwylska museet (LSH) in Sweden. In 2012 they have started their internal project called the Open Image Archive. Part of this program was to upload their collection to Wikimedia Commons. This has resulted in a massive increase in the outreach of their collection and a lot of international attention.

During this presentation the main outcomes of the paper will be discussed. We will look at the costs they had to make in order to make this happen, the internal processes, the results, and how they will go forward. We hope that this model can be an inspiration for institutions without a massive budget and shows how also a smaller institution can generate incredible effects by opening up their collection online.

Track

Discovery

Length of presentation/talk

15 - 20 Minutes presentation. 5-10 minutes for questions (optional).

Target audience

Intermediate

Expected outcomes

Show how smaller and mid-size institutions can benefit from opening up their collection to the world.

Will you attend GLAM-WIKI 2015 if your submission is not accepted?

Yes

Slides or further information (optional)

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