This presentation examined how several institutions on Flickr Commons – the Library of Congress, the Powerhouse Museum, the Smithsonian, New York Public Library, and Cornell University Library – are navigating the concept of evaluation in an emerging arena where compelling statistics are often qualitative, difficult to gather, and ever-changing. The joint presentation looked at how these different institutions managed metrics and evaluation in highly collaborative Web spaces.
Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...
Rethinking Evaluation Metrics in Light of Flickr Commons: The Smithsonian Institution
1. The Flickr Commons:
The Flickr Commons:
Smithsonian Institution
Effie Kapsalis, Smithsonian Institution Archives
@digitaleffie kapsalise@si.edu
2. 12 Divisions
• American Art Museum
• American Indian Museum
American Indian Museum
• Anacostia Community Museum
• Archives of American Art
• Archives of American Gardens
• Astrophysical Observatory
• Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
• National Museum of Natural History,
Division of Fishes
• National Postal Museum
• Smithsonian Institution Archives
Smithsonian Institution Archives
• Smithsonian Institution Libraries
• National Portrait Gallery
4. Quantitative
Highlights
2200 + photographs,
p g p
prints and graphics
+ 4.75 million views since
+ 4 75 million views since
June 2008 (~160K/month)
55% images commented
87% images favorited
87% images ‘favorited’
99% images viewed
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6. Case Study: Photo
Discovery on Flickr Leads
Discovery on Flickr Leads
to Significant Donation
September 2008 :
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Uploaded previously unpublished photos
documenting the Tennessee v. John Thomas
Scopes Trial *
July 2009:
Henrietta Silverman Jenrette contacted the
Smithsonian after seeing photographs on
Flickr, offering a donation of 10 photos of the
, g p
trial from her father who attended with his
high school biology teacher.
“I appreciate the way the photos
I appreciate the way the photos
the Smithsonian has are available
online for all to see.”
‐ Henrietta Silverman Jenrette
*http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonian/
2898243103/
10. Other Results
Increased Traffic to Smithsonian Archives Websites & Use of Resources
I d T ffi t S ith i A hi W b it & U fR
• Flickr.com is the blog’s #13 referring site
• Visitors have low bounce rate, view more pages on the blog, and spend more time than the
average visitor on the main website as well.
• The Flickr Commons accounts for 23% of the Smithsonian Archive’s overall press.
• The Flickr Commons Women in Science set has successfully increased traffic to and use of
the Science Service Finding Aid (Single Digits to 78 views/month)
New Audiences
• Ichthyologist s on Fish Specimen
Groupp
• Research scholar affiliated with
UCLA’s Center for the Study of
Women
• Wikimedia/Wikipedia users
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