Using an open Creative Commons license on ConnecticutHistory.org helps CT Humanities ensure that its digital content is free and accessible for anyone wanting to share and learn more about Connecticut’s history. The license chosen by CT Humanities, known as the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, clearly states that anyone is free to share and adapt the text of ConnecticutHistory.org articles as long as they provide appropriate attribution and license any adaptations under the same license. By using an open license, CT Humanities is setting an example for other organizations around the state on how cultural content can be made accessible in responsible and thoughtful ways.

“CT Humanities has provided free access to public humanities content for decades,” said Dr. Jason Mancini, executive director of CT Humanities. “With our new open access initiatives, we are building knowledge about the benefits of open sharing in cultural organizations around Connecticut and setting an example through our projects on how to share knowledge responsibly. We look forward to seeing more Connecticut collections and stories made available to tell a fuller story of our state’s history and culture.”

Open and digitized collections allow organizations like museums, historical societies, and art galleries to share their stories more widely and to different audiences. Licensing content or providing copyright information for collection items encourages responsible reuse and sharing of Connecticut’s history and culture.

To build knowledge and expertise about open access throughout the state, CT Humanities has partnered with Creative Commons, an international nonprofit that empowers people to grow and sustain the thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture, to offer training and resources. Additionally, to further implement open sharing, CT Humanities is encouraging cultural organizations across the state to take advantage of statewide resources such as Connecticut Collections and the Connecticut Digital Archive, a program of the University of Connecticut Library, to share their own digital content transparently and equitably.

Dana Meyer, Connecticut Collections digital projects manager at the Connecticut League of Museums, said this increases visibility, helps better preserve cultural heritage, encourages collaboration among organizations, and broadens “the impact of our collections, ensuring that they are effectively maintained and widely accessible.” Connecticut Collections is a collections management tool for the state’s organizations to use to make archival and museum collections more searchable.

Bridgeport’s Housatonic Museum of Art has recently digitized its collection and opened access to its online content. The museum digitized 700 paintings in their collection and worked with Meyer to include their digital collection in the Connecticut Collections platform. Now, a worldwide audience of students, educators, scholars, researchers, and members of the public can access 7,000+ objects in the Housatonic Museum of Art’s collection. CT Humanities provided partial funding for both the museum and Connecticut Collections to undergo professional development training through the Creative Commons Certificate for Open Culture/GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums).

“Everything really coalesced into this really amazing resource,” said Charlotte Lefland, collection manager for Housatonic Museum of Art. “Now we can engage folks who physically cannot get here. It’s a gamechanger – it can be accessed from anywhere, is more accessible, is user friendly. Students can use it for research projects, faculty can use with students, we can now share what we have with the whole world.”

Lefland encourages other organizations to reach out to CT Humanities to learn more about the open access certification.

“It helped us make sure the museum was doing the right thing with copyright and image use and intellectual property,” she said. “It’s eye opening, and it has made our world much bigger.”

Michael Kemezis, director of digital humanities for CT Humanities, said that the CT Humanities Board of Directors adopted an intellectual property policy in fall 2022 for its grants programs because it believes in the positive impact that better sharing humanities content has in building and sustaining vibrant and thriving societies. Open licensing ConnecticutHistory.org through Creative Commons is the next step in CT Humanities’ goal of promoting free sharing and access to Connecticut’s many stories.

“I am excited about all the work CT Humanities has done to advance open access in the state over the past several years,” Kemezis said. “We have gone from big ideas to concrete actions by partnering with Creative Commons to provide educational opportunities for employees at cultural institutions. I am extremely proud that we are openly licensing our own content on ConnecticutHistory.org. We will continue to find new ways to advance free access to cultural and historical content.”

For more information on ConnecticutHistory.org’s license, open access certification, digitized collections, and more, please email Michael Kemezis.

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Connecticut Humanities (CTH) is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources. Learn more by visiting cthumanities.org.

Creative Commons (CC) is an international nonprofit organization that empowers people to grow and sustain the thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture we need to address the world’s most pressing challenges and create a brighter future for all. CC empowers individuals and communities around the world by equipping them with technical, legal, and policy solutions to enable sharing of knowledge and culture in the public interest. Learn more at www.creativecommons.org