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Frankie Roberto wrote: > At the conference there did seem to be a vague consensus that we > should be moving towards giving access to these images (the public > domain ones at the very least) away though - especially with the > general buzz around Flickr Commons. > > Does anyone have any thoughts about this? And what are the > barriers we need to overcome? I think we gain more than we lose when we provide access to our images, but then I'm an old hippie and open source geek. I think we need to show that it's going to benefit our audiences and our institutions; and particularly that it's not going to lose money for our institutions. I'd love to see the figures for total expenditure on commercial image licensing and print services versus total income - do these services currently make a profit, and would that profit be enhanced by increased exposure and 'discoverability' or would that profit be dented if people no longer feel the need to pay for images? Do our museums even know if their image services are truly profitable, and if so does anyone want to volunteer their data? Someone's just started a discussion on the MCN list (http://www.mcn.edu) with the subject 'Monetizing museum web sites' and that thread might also throw up some useful suggestions. cheers, Mia Mia Ridge Database Developer, Museum Systems Team Museum of London Group 46 Eagle Wharf Road London. N1 7ED Tel: 020 7410 2205 / 020 7814 5723 Fax: 020 7600 1058 Email: [log in to unmask] www.museumoflondon.org.uk Museum of London is changing; our lower galleries will be closed while they undergo a major new development. Visit www.museumoflondon.org.uk to find out more. London's Burning - explore how the Great Fire of London shaped the city we see today www.museumoflondon.org.uk/londonsburning Before printing, please think about the environment ************************************************** For mcg information and to manage your subscription to the list, visit the website at http://www.museumscomputergroup.org.uk **************************************************