Navigation

With the rapid proliferation of digital resources, the question of what is meant by “open access” has become increasingly pressing. “Open source” software has helped to encourage the development of new digital resources, particularly among academics and members of the creative community. But do hidden pitfalls exist given the very flexibility of the infrastructure such software is intended to facilitate? To what degree does “open access” correlate to material that has entered the public domain? And to what degree can it be conferred by licenses, such as those provided by Creative Commons, and especially a “CC0” license? The release of images by museums has served scholars and the general public well, but just how “open” is access to reproductions, and what restrictions (including legal, professional, and ethical standards) may persist concerning use and adaptation of those reproductions? What steps are appropriate to take to describe and inform users of such limitations and where does or should responsibility for such notification lie? This panel seeks to address how “openness” is defined and enabled with an eye to identifying best practices and informational resources for those seeking to navigate this complex terrain. The panel welcomes papers on open access, APIs, publishing, compatibility across platforms, and other applications of fair use in digital image “openness.” We welcome papers across geographic context and from different perspectives, including that of artists, archivists, designers, technologists, lawyers, librarians, scholars, publishers, and museum professionals.