This post originally appeared on the Engelberg Center blog
Today the GLAM-E Lab, a collaborative project between the Engelberg Center and the University of Exeter (UK), is releasing a number of tools and resources for the open GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museum) community.
First, the GLAM-E Lab has launched an Open GLAM Toolkit! This suite of tools, developed directly with GLAM organizations, can be used by any cultural organization to develop their own access program and release collections for public reuse. The toolkit even includes templates for model internal and external open access policies for setting up new workflows and website policies.
Second, today the GLAM-E Lab has also launched a website-based version of the Open GLAM Survey. The Survey’s new format makes it much easier to find, explore, and analyze open GLAM organizations around the world than was previously possible via the Google Spreadsheet format.
Third, both of these are only possible because of our collaborators’ engagement. The GLAM-E Lab model is to work directly with GLAM organizations to remove legal barriers to creating open access programs, and convert that work into the standard toolkits that other organizations can use. We set a goal to work with 24 different GLAM organizations by the end of 2024, and we’ve even exceeded that goal!
Finally, all of this work led to the GLAM-E Lab winning Wikimedia UK’s Partnership of the Year Award for 2024!
You can watch our announcement video on YouTube and find more details below on these announcements. Of course, if you or someone else would be interested in working with us in 2025, please let us know!
OpenGLAM Toolkit
The Open GLAM Toolkit is built on everything that we have learned from working with GLAM-E Lab collaborators. When used together, the toolkit resources will help cultural organizations identify, prepare, and publish their digital collections for open access using public domain or other machine readable statements. It includes:
- The Onboarding Document introduces users to the GLAM-E Lab method of building an open access program. It gives you a clearer picture of what open means in practice for you, your institution, your collections, and your community.
- Assessing and Mitigating Risk provides an overview of how to set and apply risk tolerances and takedown procedures for images and data.
- The Copyright Clearance Handbook for Public Domain Publication of Digital Collections and Copyright Clearance Log guides users through the process of clearing copyright with the goal of assigning the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication when it is appropriate and lawful to do so. Once copyright is cleared, they can then add the creator or work to the Copyright Clearance Log to document the copyright status.
- The Image and Metadata Handbook for Wikimedia Commons and Sandbox Template for Wikimedia Commons Metadata Management guides users through the process of organizing their images and metadata for upload to Wikimedia Commons.
- Selecting an Alternative License or Label addresses which machine readable statements to use when CC0 cannot be applied.
- The Glossary provides a list of terms used across GLAM-E Lab resources.
OpenGLAM Survey 2.0
Version 2.0 of the OpenGLAM Survey brings the OpenGLAM Survey to a new, more user-friendly interface. You can sort organizations by type, licenses and the platforms used. The new interface also makes it easier for us to expand the survey and keep its data up to date.
We’ve Collaborated with More than 24 Organizations!
The GLAM-E Lab model is simple: work directly with individual organizations to remove legal barriers to open access programs, and turn what we learn during that work into standard tools and documents that organizations of any size can use.
Of course, all of this depends on having organizations that are open to tackling collections management issues with us in the first place. That’s why we are so excited to wrap up 2024 having worked with over 24 organizations on rights related issues and questions on open access. You can find the list of collaborators on the GLAM-E site.
hero image: Gereedschappen voor het vervaardigen van een mezzotint from the Rijksmuseum collection.