You may now download any of the massive 2.8 million high-resolution images from across Smithsonian Institution's collections --- free of charge!
For the first time in its 174-year history, Smithsonian Institution released their resources on an open access online platform, and their purpose? For you to peruse, download, use, and transform them in any way you want!
"And this gargantuan data dump is just the beginning. Throughout the rest of 2020, the Smithsonian will be rolling out another 200,000 or so images, with more to come as the Institution continues to digitize its collection of 155 million items and counting."
"“Being a relevant source for people who are learning around the world is key to our mission,” says Effie Kapsalis, who is heading up the effort as the Smithsonian’s senior digital program officer. “We can’t imagine what people are going to do with the collections. We’re prepared to be surprised.”"
What do you plan to do with these images?
Image Credit: Jon Scieszka and Steven Weinberg
The database’s launch also marks the latest victory for a growing global effort to migrate museum collections into the public domain. Nearly 200 other institutions worldwide—including Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago—have made similar moves to digitize and liberate their masterworks in recent years. But the scale of the Smithsonian’s release is “unprecedented” in both depth and breadth, says Simon Tanner, an expert in digital cultural heritage at King’s College London.
Which museum collection do you wish would follow these museums' steps?
Video Credit: Youtube / Smithsonian
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