16 December 2013
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The British Library has announced that it has released over one million copyright free historic images for 'anyone to use, remix and repurpose'. ...
British Library releases over one million copyright free historic images Images
The British Library has announced that it has released over one million copyright free historic images for 'anyone to use, remix and repurpose'.
The images have been taken from the pages of 17th, 18th and 19th-century books digitised by Microsoft, who then gifted the scans to the British Library, who are releasing them into the public domain via their Flickr account.The images include maps, political satire, botanical drawings, landscapes diagrams and illuminated letters.
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THE MECHANICAL CURATOR PROJECT
Now, the British Library is looking for new and inventive ways to use and display the images and is launching a crowd-sourcing project to help describe what the images display. A news release on the British Library website said: 'We want to collaborate with researchers and anyone else with a good idea for how to markup, classify and explore this set with an aim to improve the data and to improve and add to the tagging. We are looking to crowdsource information about what is depicted in the images themselves, as well as using analytical methods to interpret them as a whole.
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'We are very interested to hear what ideas and projects people use these images for and we would ideally like to collaborate with those who have been inspired to explore them...There is no obligation for you to attribute anything to us, but we'd appreciate it.'
Anyone who would like to help or has a query on the Mechanical Curator Project can send an e-mail to the British Library.
Explore the images at the British Library Flickr site.
(Botanic illustration taken from A Voyage to Cochin China, in the years 1792, and 1793, published 1806 by T Cadell & W Davies; crowd image taken from pg 9 of The House that Jack Built, published in London 1853, British Library shelfmark HMNTS 1164)
Keep up to date with the latest history news, discoveries and research in every issue of History Scotland and Scottish Memories magazines, available in print and digital versions.
The images have been taken from the pages of 17th, 18th and 19th-century books digitised by Microsoft, who then gifted the scans to the British Library, who are releasing them into the public domain via their Flickr account.The images include maps, political satire, botanical drawings, landscapes diagrams and illuminated letters.
THE MECHANICAL CURATOR PROJECT
Now, the British Library is looking for new and inventive ways to use and display the images and is launching a crowd-sourcing project to help describe what the images display. A news release on the British Library website said: 'We want to collaborate with researchers and anyone else with a good idea for how to markup, classify and explore this set with an aim to improve the data and to improve and add to the tagging. We are looking to crowdsource information about what is depicted in the images themselves, as well as using analytical methods to interpret them as a whole.
'We are very interested to hear what ideas and projects people use these images for and we would ideally like to collaborate with those who have been inspired to explore them...There is no obligation for you to attribute anything to us, but we'd appreciate it.'
There is no obligation for you to attribute anything to us, but we'd appreciate it. - See more at: https://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/digital-scholarship/2013/12/a-million-first-steps.html#sthash.vd8BpLpo.dpuf
Anyone who would like to help or has a query on the Mechanical Curator Project can send an e-mail to the British Library.
Explore the images at the British Library Flickr site.
(Botanic illustration taken from A Voyage to Cochin China, in the years 1792, and 1793, published 1806 by T Cadell & W Davies; crowd image taken from pg 9 of The House that Jack Built, published in London 1853, British Library shelfmark HMNTS 1164)
Keep up to date with the latest history news, discoveries and research in every issue of History Scotland and Scottish Memories magazines, available in print and digital versions.
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