Smithsonian Open Accesses Millions of Images

CC0 ‘No Rights Reserved’ licence

[iamlost]

I’m just back from a deep dive down a most marvellous rabbit hole. And know that I’ll go back... and back... and back...

The Smithsonian is in the process of digitising over 155 million images, graphics, etc. in their collections. And they’ve just

...released 2.8 million high-resolution two- and three-dimensional images from across its collections onto an open access online platform for patrons to peruse and download free of charge. Featuring data and material from all 19 Smithsonian museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives and the National Zoo, the new digital depot (Smithsonian open Access [si.edu] encourages the public to not just view its contents, but use, reuse and transform them into just about anything they choose—be it a postcard, a beer koozie or a pair of bootie shorts.

...

Listed under a Creative Commons Zero [creativecommons.org] (CC0) license, the 2.8 million images in the new database are now liberated from all restrictions, copyright or otherwise, enabling anyone with a decent Internet connection to build on them as raw materials—and ultimately participate in their evolution.

Note: hi-res can mean extremely very hi-res...

Enjoy.

[tangor]

Whew! What a Wealth!

Look for a burst of new images all across the web, thanks to CCZ!

[not2easy]

Oh, wow! Treasures of the world. At least 40 years ago my mother gave me a subscription to their monthly magazine. My thought was, "Oh great. Dusty cobwebs." I was so wrong, and have kept up my subscription since then. Thank you so much for sharing. There is no such thing as too much information and art and history. ;)

[tangor]

Going further, I'm very high on the res offered. Might call this a picture perfect roll out!

[lucy24]

It's lovely when museums do this. A couple years back I discovered that the Getty museum similarly has selected images available for free download.