The Open GLAM Survey tracks the open access activities of Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAMs) worldwide. It provides detailed, up-to-date information on the licensing policies and distribution methods used to facilitate the open sharing and reuse of digitised public domain collections.
The Open GLAM Survey was created in 2018 and is maintained by Douglas McCarthy and Andrea Wallace as part of the GLAM-E Lab’s portfolio of resources. You can learn more about the methodology used to maintain the survey on the methodology page.
The Survey offers links to more than 100 million public domain and openly licensed digital surrogates. The Survey serves as a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers, and cultural heritage professionals, as well as artists, students, educators, and members of the public who want to reuse cultural heritage without having to pay image fees.
Given the diversity of practice among GLAMs that claim new copyrights in digitised public domain collections, Douglas and Andrea review all entries to ensure policies meet the international standards of ‘open,’ which requires that open materials can be freely used, modified, and shared by anyone for any purpose.
From the start, the Survey has been developed by, with, and for members of the open GLAM community. The Survey has since expanded in scope and complexity, documenting a range of data points, including institution type, geographical location, rights statements, APIs, terms of use, volume of images, and more.
Version 1
Prior to 2018, there was a lack of comprehensive, up-to-date information about open GLAM policy and practice at national or international levels. To better understand that picture, Douglas and Andrea began collecting instances of digitised public domain collections released by cultural organisations for any reuse purpose. The first version of the Open GLAM Survey contained around 40 organisations and was housed in a publicly available Google Sheet. By 2024, that list had grown to nearly 1,700 organisations from 55 countries.
Open GLAM Survey Version 1.0
Screenshot of the Open GLAM Survey, Douglas McCarthy and Andrea Wallace, CC BY 4.0
Version 2
Based on trends and changes across the global GLAM sector, Douglas and Andrea began working with Michael and the design team at Objectively on a new version of the survey, with the goals of:
Improving the readability of the data and its structure
Automating new data pulls and data updates from GLAM websites and publication platforms
Producing an interactive, searchable version of the data with new visualisations
Publishing the data with an open API
The new version of the Open GLAM Survey was launched in December 2024.
Open GLAM Survey Team
Douglas McCarthy is Head of Library Learning Centre at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands and Research Fellow with the GLAM-E Lab.
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Andrea Wallace is Associate Professor of Law & Technology at the University of Exeter Law School and UK Director of the GLAM-E Lab.
Michael Weinberg is Executive Director of the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy at New York University Law School and US Director of the GLAM-E Lab.
About the GLAM-E Lab
The GLAM-E Lab is a joint initiative between the Centre for Science, Culture and the Law at the University of Exeter and the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy at NYU Law. It uses direct representation to develop model policies and terms for cultural institutions that are creating open access programs.