Report Examines Policies for Open Access to Images of Museum Works

"Art museums have long controlled the images of objects in their collections by charging fees for their use. In recent years, however, several art museums in the United States and United Kingdom have adopted policies permitting more open access to these images. A new report, prepared for The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and published by CLIR, describes the current approaches of 11 art museums to the use of images from their collections, when the underlying works are in the public domain. The report, Images of Works of Art in Museum Collections: The Experience of Open Access, was written by Kristin Kelly....Among the report's key findings: [1] Providing open access is a mission-driven decision. Every staff member of each museum in the study emphasized that museums exist to educate and serve their audiences, and that providing access to images of works in their collection is part of their institutional mission. [2] Different museums look at open access in different ways. Some museums have the technological, financial, and human resources to provide free, immediate, high-quality downloads of collection images, while others are taking the process in steps as resources and time permit. [3] Internal process is important. The decision to provide open access to images can affect many people in a museum. Each is a stakeholder in the process, and each needs to understand and participate in the decision making. Senior-level commitment is critical. [4] Loss of control fades as a concern. While many museum staff had legitimate questions and concerns about providing open access to images of works in their collection, their worst fears have not been realized. Several of the museums are part of the Google Art Project, or have contributed to Wikimedia or other social media sites, which means that images of many of their works are already available online. [5] Technology matters. While a decision to provide open access to images is not based solely on the available technology, it is important to have clean and complete metadata, an effective digital asset management system, generally solid museum technology, and the staff to manage all of these systems. [6] Revenue matters less than many institutions think it does. While revenue remains a topic of interest to many museums, staff generally acknowledge that their desire to provide information about the collection in as open a manner as possible trumps revenue concerns. [7] Change is good. No museum that has made the transition to open access for the images in its collection would return to its previous approach...."