2014 Charleston Library Conference

As the expectation for free, immediate and unrestricted access to content continues to grow, the opportunity and responsibility to share digital image collections through open access platforms is an important consideration for higher education institutions. For institutions and individuals new to open access sharing, the idea of publishing digital image collections in the open arena can seem daunting; it may raise inspiration for some and doubts for others. This panel will investigate the open access initiatives of three higher education institutions who are publishing digital media collections to various open access platforms, including Omeka, The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Shared Shelf Commons. Panelists from Bryn Mawr College, University of Delaware and University of Puget Sound will discuss their motivation for sharing content publicly; provide tips and tools for overcoming barriers to open access publication of various media collections; and discuss the results of exposing these digital collections to the public. This session will encourage those hesitant about publishing content on open access platforms to make the most of collections they have sharing rights to, and will provide opportunity to discuss challenges and opportunities related to open access exposure of digital image collections.