The Smithsonian Flickr Commons project launched two years ago to share the institution's photo collections online. It has since grown to include content from 39 national and international organizations. The project achieved its original goals of increasing public access and encouraging reuse of the collections, with over 3.7 million views and positive community engagement and feedback. The initiative has also led to a photo donation and more information being provided about photos through public research efforts.

1. Smithsonian Flickr
Commons
2 Years Since Launch (2010)

2. •Library of Congress
•State Library of New South Wales
•Library of Virginia
•State Library of Queensland, Australia
•DC Public Library
•The National Archives UK
•The National Archives USA
•Texas State Archives
•Getty Research Institute
•Swedish National Heritage Board
•New York Public Library
39 National &
International
Institutions

3. 12 Smithsonian Divisions, 2038 photos in 23 Sets

4. Original Goals
• Increase public knowledge of/
access to the Smithsonian’s
collections
• Develop a Smithsonian online
community
• Encourage Use and Re-use
• Improve public outreach.

5. • 3.7+ Million Views
• Numerous blog
posts, tweets,
Facebook posts, and
delicious and digg
bookmarks
Results

6. “I love this set – so inspirational!”
“What a gift from the Smithsonian.
Thanks.”
“Hello, this is my grandmother…
please let me know what information,
if any that you would like about the
Sabin, Goodwin family.”
“Piece of history. Fabulous.”
“I used this in a graphic design
experiment, creating a fake album
cover for a fictional band - on display
in my Imaginary Record Shop!”
Comments

7. DONATION!
Ms. Henrietta Silverman Jenrette
contacted us through our website
requesting that we accept her
donation of 10 photos of the trial that
her father attended with his previous
high school biology teacher. The
reason? “I appreciate the way the
photos the Smithsonian has are
available online for all to see.”
INFORMATION!
We have posted photos where we
have had little information about the
content of the photograph. There is a
hard-working community ready to do
research and give source links!
More Results