I'm not sure the question at this point is whether it's the absolute best use of WMUK funds. It is _a_ use of those funds, which is what has been lacking up to now so far as I've noticed.
In any case the third/fourth bullet points sound like pretty ideal uses of funds to me. I don't think "Google will do it given time" is much of an argument. -----Original Message----- From: wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Fae Sent: 17 August 2011 04:05 To: wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimediauk-l] Question: When and how often should WM-UK give grants for digitization projects? Hi, The Chapter has had recent grant requests of the following sorts: * A request to scan and release papers from a notable person's estate after their death, the papers have not previously been in the public domain. * A suggested volunteer project with Wikipedians to scan several thousand major items of significant artwork and records that can be released for the first time into the public domain. * A suggested project to pay institution professionals to scan several thousand major items of significant artwork and records that can be released for the first time into the public domain. * A proposal to jointly fund an institution to pay for digitization of hundreds of thousands of previously unreleased historic papers where there are no copyright implications. In the light of the British Library's recent agreement with Google Books to partner with them to scan and release a vast number of "old" books on Google's well known system, I remain uncertain about whether digitization for larger projects is the best use of WM-UK funds. These are all good projects that push forward our mission of opening up knowledge for maximum possible public access, however it can also be argued that such projects may be far more effectively managed by a specialist partner (such as Google or established academic institutions and charities with specialist skills and equipment). I welcome any feedback on how well these projects fulfil our mission and how often our funds ought to be invested in these projects compared to other projects which may have greater impact for new user outreach or wider "e-volunteer" engagement. Cheers, Fae -- http://enwp.org/user_talk:fae Guide to email tags: http://j.mp/faetags _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediau...@wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org
