This document discusses the impact and benefits of open collections at cultural heritage institutions. It begins by quoting James Smithson about the importance of exchange and mutual assistance between naturalists to assemble collections. It then discusses how open access to scholarly articles on the internet has allowed unprecedented sharing of knowledge. Examples are given of how open collections at institutions like museums have led to increased use of collections, new funding opportunities, and greater engagement with the public. Challenges of openness like infrastructure demands and copyright issues are also addressed. The document advocates for making collections as openly accessible and useful as possible to support research, education, and creativity.

1. THE IMPACT OF
OPEN
COLLECTIONS
(...AND WHAT’S NEXT)
EFFIE KAPSALIS
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ARCHIVES
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Anthony Quinn and Alan Bates, Zorba the Greek, 1964

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6. "IT IS ONLY BY EXCHANGE AND MUTUAL ASSISTANCE THAT
NATURALLISTS [SIC] CAN POSSIBLY EVER SUCCEED IN ASSEMBLING
TOGETHER A COLLECTION OF SUBJECTS OF THEIR STUDY, WHICH
NATURE HAS MADE SO NUMEROUS, AND DISSEMINATED IN SUCH
VARIOUS AND DISTANT PARTS OF THE WORLD,”
JAMES SMITHSON
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Color Image of the Smithsonian Castle on Fire, January 24, 1865

8. “…AN ESTABLISHMENT FOR THE INCREASE &
DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE AMONG MEN.“
- JAMES SMITHSON, 1826
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9. #ALLEZCULTURE
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10. 21ST CENTURY INCREASE
& DIFFUSION
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“An old tradition and a new technology
have converged to make possible an
unprecedented public good. The old tradition
is the willingness of scientists and scholars to
publish the fruits of their research in scholarly
journals without payment, for the sake of
inquiry and knowledge. The new technology is
the internet.”
- Budapest Open Access Initiative, 2001

11. WE, THE WEB KIDS
1. We grew up with the Internet and on the Internet…
The ability to find information is to us something
as basic as the ability to find a railway station or a
post office in an unknown city is to you…
@digitaleffie

12. WE, THE WEB KIDS
2. People who will share their expertise with us not for
profit, but because of our shared belief that information
exists in motion, that it wants to be free, that we all
benefit from the exchange of information…
@digitaleffie

13. WE, THE WEB KIDS
3. What we value the most is freedom: freedom of
speech, freedom of access to information and to
culture. We feel that it is thanks to freedom that the
Web is what it is, and that it is our duty to protect
that freedom. We owe that to next generations, just as
much as we owe to protect the environment.
@digitaleffie

14. WE, THE WEB KIDS
One more thing: we do not want to pay
for our memories.
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15. OPEN ACCESS
“…free availability on the public internet, permitting any
users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search,
or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for
indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them
for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or
technical barriers other than those inseparable from
gaining access to the internet itself.”
- Budapest Open Access Initiative, 2001
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16. #OPENGLAM STUDY
Trailer - http://s.si.edu/2cQ6PU1
Research - http://s.si.edu/2d8MNQS
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17. #OPENGLAM RESULTS
• New fundraising and brand licensing opportunities.
• More efficient image management and digitization processes.
• A realignment of staff with more mission-critical activities
• Furthering of research, educational and creative activities.
• Increases in use and awareness of an institution’s collections.
• Creation of a strengthened and more relevant brand.
• Increased goodwill leading to increased public engagement.
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18. #OPENGLAM – MISSION
“Making the biodiversity heritage
literature online has accelerated the pace
of taxonomic science across the world.”
- Martin Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Libraries
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19. #OPENGLAM – MISSION
“Open access increased the institution’s
appetite for risk-taking, and enabled
innovative research and experimentation
with the library’s collections.”
- Nora McGregor, British Libraries
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20. #OPENGLAM – EMPLOYEE
SATISFACTION
Since releasing the museum’s collections
online without restrictions, staff members
have been spared from approving 14,000
image requests — and writing at least
28,000 emails.
- “Reusing Te Papa’s collections images, by the numbers,” Adrian Kingston, digital
collections analyst, Te Papa Museum of New Zealand
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21. #OPENGLAM – INCREASED
FUNDING LANDSCAPE
“We lost all our income on direct sales of
images, but we gained a lot of new
friends, sponsors, and new funding
streams…more than we lost in revenue.”
- Lizzy Jongma, formerly Rijksmuseum, Netwerk Oorlogsbronnen
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22. #OPENGLAM – IMPROVED BRAND
Six months after launch, NYPL had received over 100
press mentions and was approached by a major New
York retailer asking about brand licensing
opportunities.
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23. RISKS TO OPEN
ACCESS
• Increased demand on technical infrastructure.
• Potential increase in staff workload if media delivery is not self-
service.
• Loss of rights and reproduction income….however doesn’t
actually cover costs of doing that business.
• Staff worries over loss of intellectual control and potential for
abuse of collections; however, studies show that nothing of
negative consequence results.
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24. RISKS TO CLOSED
• Decreased funding opportunities as funders move to requiring
open access.
• Reduced opportunities for collaboration with other knowledge
organizations, open government initiatives, cultural heritage
aggregators, Wikipedia, and digital humanities projects.
• Reduced mission-impact.
• Reduced marketing opportunities/irrelevant brand.
• Potential reduction in activity from digital volunteers due to
perception that their work is not supporting an open effort.
• Large amounts of staff time spent on non-mission-critical tasks.
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25. CHALLENGES
• Not-so-nimble organizational structures
• Resources needed for copyright research, digitization,
dissemination activities.
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How do we make it as useful as
possible to many users, for many
uses?

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The first U.S. National Museum Building Committee, 1880, 78-10099

30. “…when you’re invisible people assume
you’ve done nothing.”
- Edith P. Mayo, Curator Emeritus, Smithsonian National Museum of American
History
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Smithsonian Institution Archives “Women in Science Wednesday” Campaign
https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/tag/women-science-wednesday

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Screenshot of African American Contributions to the Smithsonian: Challenges and Achievements
https://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/african-americans
IS OUR HISTORY
INCLUSIVE?

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“Color History with the Smithsonian” Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon
WHO KEEPS/DOCUMENTS OUR HISTORY?

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Smithsonian Secretary David Skorton’s Youth Advisory Committee
WHO ARE THE FUTURE
MUSEUM PROFESSIONALS?

35. OPENNESS + ACCESSIBILITY
“Accessibility is something that’s never
really done. It’s not like, ‘Oh, we checked
that box. We finished that work.’ It’s
really about an almost philosophical
approach and a practice of engagement,
and it’s something that we are continually
working to improve here.”
- Danielle Linzer, Warhol Museum's curator of education and interpretation
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