Article: The Smithsonian Puts 4.5 Million High-Res Images Online and Into the Public Domain, Making Them Free to Use

This Open Culture article is from April, but sharing good news about public domain images is something that shouldn't be bound by time. (In other words, better late than never!)  Smithsonian Open Access provides now provides new platforms and tools, which give "easier access to more than 4.5 million 2D and 3D digital items from our collections—with many more to come. This includes images and data from across the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo." (Smithsonian) Note that you can search and retrieve only images that have CC0 licenses (free of copyright restrictions).

This is a collection that is worth bookmarking and using! Consider how you can connect images from the past to events that are happening today, which could help you broaden the media that you are using.

Controlled Digital Lending and Libraries: A follow-up to Hachette v Internet Archive

Right now libraries are under pressure from several different forces including those who want to limit access to specific topics (e.g., critical race theory, LGBTQ, parts of U.S. history, etc.) and publishers who are focused on what a library is, digitization, and digital books. You might feel like hiding your head in the sand, but not is not the time for that. Knowing what has happened and what is happening is important.  

It is with that in mind that I'm sharing these posts/articles that provide links to articles/commentary on the on Hachette v Internet Archive decision. Read them, skim them, save them for later...just don't ignore this, because we can't have publishers using this decision as a further step in limiting what libraries can do.

• Publishers Weekly. (March 2023) Hachette v. Internet Archive: All Our Coverage. 
• Laura Gibbs. (April 2023) The Battle for Libraries Has begun. 
• Gary Price (March 2023) Judge Issues Opinion in Hachette Book Group, Et Al v. Internet Archive, Et Al; Plaintiffs Motion For Summary Judgment Granted