Wikipedia:Meetup/Baltimore/Public Domain

Please join the Baltimore Wikipedia Workshop and Wikimedia DC on October 11 for a special workshop-soiree, entitled

"A Stroll Through the Public Domain"

Overview

In this workshop, we'll look at the images used to illustrate Wikipedia. Almost all of these images come from Wikipedia's sister database, Wikimedia Commons. But how do they get there?

Some images are generously donated by Wikipedia users, who license their images so that anyone can use or modify them for any purpose.

Other images come from the vast legal realm known as the Public Domain.

We want to explore these sources of images with an eye to bringing more & better resources onto the project.

We will also review the Summer of Monuments project, check out some of the 10,000+ images that folks have uploaded, and discuss ways to advance the goal of better illustrating history.

Sounds interesting, when is it?

Saturday, October 11, 5:30–11:00 PM

OK, but where?

The Baltimore Free School, now located conveniently at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse

30 W. North Ave, on the corner of North Ave. & Maryland Ave.,

Baltimore, Maryland 21201

All are welcome: beginners and experts

We'll have coffee, food, and a good time. Let's work together to hone our skills and improve this tragically flawed yet beautiful website.

Participants

• Harej (talk) 19:16, 7 October 2014 (UTC)
• Duckduckstop (talk)
• Monumenteer2014 (talk)

Upload Techniques Easy, Medium, & Challenging

One topic to consider is the different tools which can be used for upload. In approximate order of difficulty (& power), ascending:

• Upload Wizard – the most basic; probably easiest to use for a new contributor or for a small batch of images.
• Flickr 2 Commons tool – imports properly licensed photos, one by one or in whole photosets, from Flickr to Commons.
• Commonist – batch upload tool with more options; runs in Java from your browser or on your computer.
• GLAM-Wiki Toolset – sophisticated tool for importing large collections, using flat XML as input. Some assembly required.

Treasure Troves

"Blind street musicians, West Memphis, Arkansas, Sept. 1935." Photograph created in 1935 by Ben Shahn for the Farm Security Administration — and thus immediately part of the public domain — then archived as a photo negative at the New York Public Library — then digitized in 2004 by NYPL — then imported to Flickr in 2008 — then detected in a search for well-licensed photos related to "Farm Security Administration" — then imported to Wikimedia Commons on October 3, 2014.

• The Library of Congress
  • Chronicling America Project
  • Vast supply of digitized images, many from the mid-20th century and unequivocally part of the public domain.
• Flickr
  • "The Commons"
  • Search for only images with Wiki-friendly licenses.
• Public libraries
  • Boston Public Library: postcard collection and much more.
  • New York Public Library: All Flickr albums
• State-by-state digital history collections
  • Kentucky Digital Library
  • Tennessee Virtual Archive