Photo by George

The Commons

Help us catalog the world’s public photo archives.

The Commons Help us catalog the world’s public photo archives.

Welcome!

The key goal of The Commons is to share hidden treasures from the world's public photography archives.

Please help make the photographs you enjoy more discoverable by adding tags and leaving comments. Your contributions and knowledge make these photos even richer*

A random sprinkling of our participating institutions...

  • National Archives of Estonia
  • Arkivverket (National Archives of Norway)
  • Tasmanian Archives and State Library (Commons)
  • Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada
  • Museum of Hartlepool
  • National Library NZ on The Commons
  • Nova Scotia Archives
  • LSE Library
  • The Field Museum Library
  • Aalto University Library and Archive Commons
  • Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Archives
  • National Library of Australia Commons
  • Senado Federal do Brasil
  • National Galleries of Scotland Commons
  • Getty Research Institute
  • Royal Australian Historical Society
  • UA Archives | Upper Arlington History
  • UC Berkeley, Department of Geography
  • Regionaal Archief Alkmaar Commons
  • The Library of Virginia
  • Vestfoldmuseene | Vestfold Museums
  • The U.S. National Archives
  • The National Archives UK
  • Texas State Archives
  • Costică Acsinte Archive
  • State Library of Queensland, Australia
  • bibliothequedetoulouse
  • California Historical Society Digital Collection
  • Galt Museum & Archives on The Commons
  • Royal Danish Library
  • Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums
  • State Library of NSW
  • TXSTATE Library Digital Collections
  • UBC Library Digitization Centre
  • Preus museum

A Commons Sampler

Clanssey (LOC)
Clanssey (LOC)
from The Library of Congress

Neurochondrodes
Neurochondrodes
from History of Medicine Division - NLM - NIH

Piction ID 57912503 Convair XFY-1 Various Photos 7
Piction ID 57912503 Convair XFY-1 Various Photos 7
from San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives

Vaccination
Vaccination
from History of Medicine Division - NLM - NIH

Idiot Ropea
Idiot Ropea
from History of Medicine Division - NLM - NIH

Cernan and Schmitt
Cernan and Schmitt
from NASA on The Commons

Astronaut Eugene Cernan by the LRV During a Lunar EVA
Astronaut Eugene Cernan by the LRV During a Lunar EVA
from NASA on The Commons

Une Partie de football =: A Football Game
Une Partie de football =: A Football Game
from History of Medicine Division - NLM - NIH

N_2005_3_003
N_2005_3_003
from

More about The Commons

A new way to share photos on Flickr

The Commons was launched on January 16 2008, when we released our pilot project in partnership with The Library of Congress. Both Flickr and the Library were overwhelmed by the positive response to the project! Thank you!

The program has two main objectives:

  1. To increase access to publicly-held photography collections, and
  2. To provide a way for the general public to contribute information and knowledge. (Then watch what happens when they do!)

FAQ

I work for a cultural heritage institution that would like to be a part of The Commons. How do we do that?

Please let us know you're interested by registering here. It helps a lot if you let us know some background about your institution, and direct us to any online photo collections you already have.

How can I get involved?

We've already seen fantastic contribution from the Flickr membership. Your tags and conversations about the content in The Commons has been wonderful! The best way to get involved is to add a tag or two to the photos you see, and if you happen to know anything else about the subject, by all means add a comment.

What's "no known copyright restrictions?"

This new rights statement is being contained to the institutions participating in The Commons, at the account level. It is a requirement for participation in the program that institutions may rightly claim "no known copyright restrictions" on the content they share. More information.

*Any Flickr member is able to add tags or comment on these collections. If you're a dork about it, shame on you. This is for the good of humanity, dude!!