{"id":1248,"date":"2013-10-24T14:46:57","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T14:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/?p=1248"},"modified":"2013-10-24T14:47:33","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T14:47:33","slug":"the-flickr-commons-has-many-old-photographs-and-postcards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dixonhistory.com\/news\/the-flickr-commons-has-many-old-photographs-and-postcards\/","title":{"rendered":"The Flickr Commons Has Many Old Photographs and Postcards"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The ferry running between Pennsville, NJ and New Castle DE. Source: Boston Public Library, Flickr Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a result of developing research materials for centuries many of the nation\u2019s largest public libraries have vast collections of photographs and postcards from earlier times.\u00a0 These items, which are helpful to those digging into the past, have always been available, safely preserved and stored away for visiting patrons.\u00a0 But now access is greatly enhanced as many of these institutions implement online sharing platforms that support the organization\u2019s mission by increasing access for education, research, and personal enrichment.<\/p>\n

The Boston Public Library (BPL), <\/a>following the example of the Library of Congress,<\/a> is one of the institutions that has embraced this approach.\u00a0 It has about 86,000 images on the Commons.\u00a0 BPL\u2019s photostream is organized into collections and sets. clustered by major topic and state.\u00a0 It has many historical treasures, including posters, postcards, labels, sheet music, trade cards, and much more.\u00a0 \u00a0There are 189 Delaware <\/a>and 380 Maryland <\/a>postcards, for example.<\/p>\n

The goal of the Flickr Commons is to increase access to publicly held photograph collections and provide a way for the general public to contribute information and knowledge.<\/p>\n

Check it out.\u00a0 You will find\u00a0images there that will catch your interest as more institutions find innovative ways to share holdings found in the \u201cworld\u2019s public photography archives.\u201d\u00a0 Beyond making the images available on the Internet, visitors are invited to contribute to the public knowledge by adding tags and leaving comments.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n

Flickr, Google and Others are Out to Catalog the World\u2019s Public Photo Archives.<\/h6>\n

The blog Indicommons<\/a>\u00a0has a lot of additional information about the the Flickr approach.\u00a0 Check it out for details, but here are some points the site makes<\/p>\n