Inputs in view of an action plan and proposed institutional setup for OpenGLAM in Switzerland, Open Knowledge Conference, Geneva, 18 September 2013

1. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
Action Planning for OpenGLAM &
Institutional Setup in Switzerland
Beat Estermann, 18 September 2013 – OKCon, Geneva
▶ Bern University of Applied Sciences, E-Government Institute
Musée de l'Ariana (Genève), Wikimedia Commons, Gfuerst, CC-by-sa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

2. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
Action Planning for Open GLAM
• Insights from Swiss GLAM survey
• Inputs from participants of the GLAM workshop

3. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
Pilot Study among Swiss GLAMs
Where do Swiss GLAMs stand with regard to...
…Digitization?
…Exchange of metadata in multilateral cooperation?
…Open Data?
…Crowdsourcing?
…Linked Open Data?
Our sample: 72 memory institutions from Switzerland
Beat Estermann (2013). Swiss Heritage Institutions in the
Internet Era. Results of a pilot survey on open data and
crowdsourcing. Bern University of Applied Sciences, E-
Government Institute.
English: http://tinyurl.com/SwissGLAMsurvey
Deutsch: http://tinyurl.com/GLAMStudie

4. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
Innovation Diffusion among Swiss GLAMs:
The Overall Picture
A critical mass has been reached.
How about the laggards?
Will we see a higher rate of adoption for
Open Data than for Crowdsourcing?
Some institutions are starting to think about
Linked Data…

5. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
▶ Pursue approaches that do not require a high level of mutual
engagement between GLAMs and the community
• simply releasing content is easier than engaging in more complex
cooperation!)
• some level of standardization (metadata, content quality, APIs) is
needed to keep transaction costs low.
▶ GLAMs are most likely to adopt Open Data / Open Content policies,
…
• if it’s for education and research
• if it’s for a non-profit cause
• if it’s useful (well documenting the use is important!)
Wikipedia/Wikimedia as well as research and educational
institutions are attractive partners.
Short-term strategy

6. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
▶ Information campaigns should focus on:
• “free” licensing requirement for Wikipedia and Open Data
• positive accounts of how GLAMs handle the relative loss of control
• showing how the provenance of the data / content is documented
• examples of how a useful content contribution can be made
without much extra effort
Role models and example cases are needed!
Short-term information campaigns

7. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
▶ Real cooperation is costly. Pilot projects are needed to demonstrate
and document its usefulness and to foster learning processes.
▶ Communication efforts should focus on:
• Putting collections and cross-organizational themes at the
center of attention (and not the institutions)
• Telling GLAMs how released contents have been used and
what types of content would be particularly useful
• Telling stories of mutually beneficial relationships between
GLAMs and the communities
Cooperation / communication in the longer-term

8. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
▶ Examine how digitization efforts of GLAMs can be supported – in
exchange for “free” licensing of content.
▶ Examine to what extent crowdsourcing approaches can be used to
respond to GLAMs' needs and expectations in terms of metadata
improvement and correction/transcription tasks.
▶ Metadata is important for GLAMs: The potential of Wikidata with
regard to GLAM metadata should be better explored.
Digitization and metadata improvement

9. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
▶ Broader community
engagement
▶ Legal and technical
standards
▶ Collaboration with
Wikipedia/Wikimedia
▶ Sharing documents,
arguments and statistics
▶ Getting opening collections
recognized
▶ Realizing quick wins!
Further focus areas identified during the OpenGLAM
Workshop

10. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
Proposed Institutional Setup for OpenGLAM
in Switzerland
• Swiss OpenGLAM Working Group
• Swiss OpenGLAM Network

11. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
Working Group of the Swiss chapter of the Open Knowledge
Foundation
▶ Mission:
▶ Promote and facilitate the adoption of the OpenGLAM principles in
Switzerland
▶ Members:
▶ Wikimedia CH
▶ Digitale Allmend / Creative Commons Switzerland
▶ Swiss GLAMs (interested GLAMs are invited to join)
▶ Research and educational institutions
▶ Next Steps:
▶ October/November 2013: official constitution
▶ By the end of 2013: development of an activity plan for 2014
Swiss OpenGLAM Working Group

12. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
Network of organizations/institutions that endorse the OpenGLAM
principles
▶ Basic level of participation:
• express adhesion / support
• stay informed
• signal readiness for active cooperation with the Free Knowledge / Open
Data movement
▶ Advanced level of participation:
• engage in pilot projects
• engage in mutual learning processes
• be recognized as an innovator in the area of OpenGLAM
▶ Types of organizations asked to join the network:
• GLAMs, NGOs, research institutions
• educational institutions, service providers, funding institutions
Swiss OpenGLAM Network

13. Berner Fachhochschule | Haute école spécialisée bernoise | Bern University of Applied Sciences
▶ Contact details:
• Beat Estermann
E-mail: beat.estermann@bfh.ch
Phone: +41 31 848 34 38
▶ Affiliations:
• Research Associate, E-Government Institute, Bern University of Applied
Sciences
• Member of opendata.ch (Swiss Chapter of the Open Knowledge
Foundation)
• Member of Digitale Allmend (Swiss Chapter of CreativeCommons)
• Member of Wikimedia CH
Thank you for your attention!