Shaping Access! – More responsibility for cultural heritage

Publicly funded archives, museums and libraries are important custodians of cultural heritage. But what about access to these great storehouses of knowledge? Are the artifacts that are cataloged, restored and safeguarded by memory institutions really visible or are they hidden in locked up store rooms? Does „Open Access“ mean „Access free of charge“? Is the self-conception of heritage institutions changing in the information age? What is the role of participatory initiatives such as Wikipedia, what is the role of the private sector? Why is free access to cultural heritage often given for non-commercial uses only? Is the differentiation in commercial and non-commercial use justified? What responsibility do memory institutions have when it comes to granting access to cultural heritage? Do they have more responsibilities in the information age, with access becoming ever more easy from a technical point of view?

The International Conference „Shaping Access!“, running 22nd and 23rd October 2012 at the Jewish Museum in Berlin will offer an opportunity to discuss different concepts of access to cultural heritage with experts from the areas of culture, business, civil society, and politics.

Organizers: Jewish Museum Berlin, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Internet & Society Co:llaboratory, iRightsLab Culture, Open Knowledge Foundation Germany, Wikimedia Germany

Media partner: KULTURSERVER

With kind support of: EMC Deutschland GmbH, Zeutschel GmbH, startext Unternehmensberatung GmbH

Head of the conference: Dr. Paul Klimpel  |  Coordination: Stefan van Zwoll & Jana Maire

Conference program (pdf)

Admission is free. Please register in advance. Please note, that the conference language is German – no translation can be provided.