Pioneers of Open Culture: A look back at how open access happened at three early adopters
Summary
The list of Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAMs) with open access programs gets longer every day. The National Gallery of Art (United States), Statens Museum for Kunst, and New York Public Library are different institutions. Well designed digital backends also made it easier to experiment with smaller projects that were not true one-offs, but rather closely integrated into the institution’s technology infrastructure. Open access programs succeed when there is space to try new things, and create multiple points of entry into an institution’s collections. Hopefully, understanding that history can help accelerate open access programs yet to be created, and encourage people to embark on better sharing of cultural heritage worldwide.