Bundesarchiv and Wikimedia Commons

In December 2008, the German Federal Archive (Bundesarchiv) and Wikimedia Germany e.V. announced a cooperation that includes the release of some 100.000 images under a free license (Creative Commons cc-by-sa). The files' size is 800 pixel on its larger side, which is suitable for many web applications. Many of these images are now integrated in various language editions of Wikipedia. In return for these images, Wikimedia volunteers are conducting a matching process between the authority files of the Bundesarchiv, the German National Library and Wikipedia persondata-templates. This cooperation has resulted in the largest single upload of files to Wikimedia Commons so far and it serves as an example that can be repeated with other archives.

Policy recommendations

* Media files that are created with public funding should be released to the public under a free license
* Preferred licenses are Creative Commons cc-by-sa which ensure that media files remain freely available to the public and cc-by to a slightly lesser extend
* In order to facilitate the release of media collections, freely available and up-to-date authority files are needed. Libraries should release them under free licenses
* The release of files with slightly reduced resolution can be an acceptable temporary solution to preserve traditional sources of income for archives

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