Use Cases

Scenarios for risks associated with sharing digital collections under open licenses

This section captures potential risks associated with sharing digital collections under open licenses or public domain tools. Each use case highlights real-world scenarios faced by GLAM organizations, featuring key personas, underlying causes, and potential impacts. Each use case is structured as follows:

[Persona] doesn't make [X type] collection or work open access, because [Y] will happen and that has an impact on [Z].

These use cases are derived from responses to open-ended questions in the Working Group's online survey on risk management in open access to digital collections. A variety of personas are included to represent the diverse roles involved in managing digital collections within GLAM organizations, and sharing them openly with the public.

The use cases are listed below by collection type. Click on the arrow (>) to expand each section.

All types of work/ collections

⚠️ Cultural heritage professionals don’t make certain digital collections open access because of copyright ambiguity. If materials are made available without proper copyright checks, there’s a risk of copyright infringement or misuse by the public, which can impact legal compliance and damage the reputation of the institution.

⚠️ Decision makers don’t make certain digital collections open access, because inaccurate licensing or uncertainties in copyright ownership could lead to privacy breaches or unauthorised sharing or misuse. This would impact the institution’s ability to safeguard sensitive cultural materials and comply with contractual obligations, especially in cases involving Indigenous communities.

⚠️ Library administrators don’t make certain collections open access, because many of them have not been digitised. This delays public access and impacts the institution’s ability to share resources effectively in the digital age.

⚠️ Collection managers don’t make certain items open access, because there is a lack of clear procedural workflows for obtaining permissions. This can result in legal and copyright issues, impacting the institution’s ability to share its full range of collections effectively.

⚠️ Curators at smaller, understaffed institutions don’t make all their collections open access, because they lack the resources and trained personnel to manage rights and permissions accurately. This could lead to mismanagement of copyright information, affecting the institution’s credibility and the quality of its publicly accessible collections.

⚠️ Institutional decision makers don’t make collections open access, because there is no unified policy or clear leadership direction. This results in inconsistent approaches to monetization and accessibility, impacting the institution’s ability to maintain a cohesive strategy for sharing and protecting its collections.

Indigenous collections

⚠️ Curators don’t make Indigenous collections open access, because there is a risk of unethical sharing without proper decolonial protocols. This could lead to cultural exploitation and disrespect towards the communities, undermining trust and collaboration with Indigenous partners.

Photographs & images

⚠️ Institution managers don’t make certain heritage photographs open access, because of potential self-image rights violations and misuse for commercial purposes. This can harm the dignity of the individuals depicted and damage the institution’s commitment to ethical and respectful representation.

⚠️ Repository managers don’t make high-resolution image collections fully open access, because unrestricted use could lead to commercial exploitation without compensation. This undermines potential revenue from licensing agreements with partner picture agencies, affecting the institution’s funding and financial viability.

⚠️ Institution administrators don’t make all digital assets open access, because without control over usage, there’s a risk of images being used in commercial products. This affects revenue streams from licensing, which may be crucial for funding preservation and digitization projects.

Audio and video materials

⚠️ Digital collection managers don’t make certain culturally sensitive audio and video materials open access, because there’s a risk of them being exploited for commercial purposes without permission. This could disrespect the cultural heritage of the content and negatively affect the institution’s relationships with content owners and the public.

Publications

⚠️ Publishers don’t make all their publications open access, because this would lead to a significant loss of revenue from hard copy sales. This loss impacts the financial sustainability of the journals, especially since they do not charge author processing fees to offset costs.

Datasets

⚠️ Data managers don’t make certain open datasets available without restrictions, because the information could be misused for illicit excavations or fuel conspiracy theories. This misuse can lead to cultural misinformation and damage public trust in scholarly research.

⚠️ Research data managers don’t make datasets open access, because inadequate or technically misleading data may spread rapidly and be misinterpreted. This can negatively impact the credibility of the research institution and result in difficulties securing future funding.

⚠️ Digital archivists don’t make raw datasets open access, because unrefined data might contain sensitive personal or institutional information. This could lead to security breaches or exploitation of system vulnerabilities, affecting the safety and privacy of both the institution and its stakeholders.