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*

Participating Institutions

FAQ

Rights Statement

A random sprinkling of our participating institutions...

  • National Archives of Estonia
  • National Library of Scotland
  • Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland
  • State Library of New South Wales collection
  • Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway)
  • Fylkesarkivet i Sogn og Fjordane
  • Swedish National Heritage Board
  • UL Digital Library
  • Australian War Memorial collection
  • Bergen Public Library
  • bibliothequedetoulouse
  • State Records NSW
  • DC Public Library Commons
  • LlGC ~ NLW
  • UA Archives | Upper Arlington History
  • Galt Museum & Archives on The Commons
  • Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons
  • JWA Commons
  • Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
  • Biblioteca de Arte-Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
  • Nova Scotia Archives
  • Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
  • George Eastman House
  • The Library of Virginia
  • Stockholm Transport Museum Commons
  • The National Archives UK
  • Ljósmyndasafn Reykjavíkur / Reykjavík Museum of
  • Texas State Archives
  • Brooklyn Museum
  • State Library of Queensland, Australia
  • Mennonite Church USA Archives
  • National Library NZ on The Commons
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • The Library of Congress
  • Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

A Commons Sampler

Emir of Bukhara. Bukhara (LOC)
Emir of Bukhara. Bukhara (LOC)
from The Library of Congress

Melon vendor. Samarkand (LOC)
Melon vendor. Samarkand (LOC)
from The Library of Congress

Photograph of Emmet Ernest Gallagher
Photograph of Emmet Ernest Gallagher
from Law Society of Upper Canada Archives

Photograph of Harold Duncan McCormick
Photograph of Harold Duncan McCormick
from Law Society of Upper Canada Archives

View of Our Savior-Iakovlevskii Monastery, from the tower of the Rostov museum in the Kremlin. Rostov Velikii (environs) (LOC)
View of Our Savior-Iakovlevskii Monastery, from the tower of the...
from The Library of Congress

AL_2_Rowell_00281 (215)
AL_2_Rowell_00281 (215)
from San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives

AL_2_Rowell_00281 (142)
AL_2_Rowell_00281 (142)
from San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives

Photograph of Walter Herbert Gregory (d. 1969)
Photograph of Walter Herbert Gregory (d. 1969)
from Law Society of Upper Canada Archives

Pinkhus Karlinskii. Eighty-four years [old]. Sixty-six years of service. Supervisor of Chernigov floodgate. [Russian Empire] (LOC)
Pinkhus Karlinskii. Eighty-four years [old]. Sixty-six years of...
from The Library of Congress

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!!