Eighteenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum

Abstract

As more museums adapt to increasingly online audiences and users, they recognize the need for increased access to their collections online. They often seek Creative Commons legal tools, expertise and community support related to opening access to their digital collections. This workshop provides a crash course in CC Licenses and public domain tools, demonstrating how and why using them helps increase public awareness and access to museums’ vital cultural heritage resources. Creative Commons will (1) share an overview, as well as key takeaways and considerations from the CC Certificate for Open Culture, a professional development training that builds expertise in open licensing and open practices for cultural heritage professionals; (2) put the teaching into practice, as we lead participants through a fun exercise, called “human sculptures.” Through creating an exhibit of human sculptures, then “digitizing” them for an online collection, this activity is meant to inspire discussion around the challenges, opportunities and ethical considerations around copyright and stewardship of digitized cultural works. Participants will come away from this session with a better understanding of the public domain, open licensing and copyright considerations with digitization projects.