Press releases/Wikimedia Commons 5 million files: Difference between revisions
(tenses/current status) |
|||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
Wikimedia Commons started 5 years ago this month. It reached 4 million media files a mere 6 months ago, on the 4th March 2009, after taking 8 months to go from 3 million to 4 million files. Amongst the 5 million files are 1,700 "featured" pictures -- the very finest on Wikimedia Commons. | Wikimedia Commons started 5 years ago this month. It reached 4 million media files a mere 6 months ago, on the 4th March 2009, after taking 8 months to go from 3 million to 4 million files. Amongst the 5 million files are 1,700 "featured" pictures -- the very finest on Wikimedia Commons. | ||
In the last year, Wikimedia Commons has seen several substantial donations of media files. In December 2008, Bundesarchiv (the German Federal Archive) donated nearly 100,000 images. In March 2009, the State and University Library Dresden | In the last year, Wikimedia Commons has seen several substantial donations of media files. In December 2008, Bundesarchiv (the German Federal Archive) donated nearly 100,000 images. In March 2009, the State and University Library Dresden announced that they will donate nearly 250,000 images, which are in the process of being uploaded. These donations have been mutually beneficial: the archives have benefited from the work of Wikimedia volunteers in categorizing these images, checking their descriptions, linking them with appropriate metadata and adding the images to Wikipedia articles. This has led to increased visibility of their works online, and a substantial increase in visitors to their websites and the archives' sales of prints. | ||
[[File:Excavation at Uriconium by Francis Bedford.jpg|thumb|right|An image of the excavation at Uriconium, Shropshire, taken by Francis Bedford, donated by Regionarkivet]] | [[File:Excavation at Uriconium by Francis Bedford.jpg|thumb|right|An image of the excavation at Uriconium, Shropshire, taken by Francis Bedford, donated by Regionarkivet]] | ||
In August 2009, Regionarkivet (Sweden) donated high-resolutions scans of 27 images by important 19th century photographers to Wikimedia Sverige and Wikimedia Commons. These included works by the British photographers Francis Bedford and Roger Fenton. | In August 2009, Regionarkivet (Sweden) donated high-resolutions scans of 27 images by important 19th century photographers to Wikimedia Sverige and Wikimedia Commons. These included works by the British photographers Francis Bedford and Roger Fenton. | ||
Wikimedia Commons | Wikimedia Commons is also currently receiving influxes of nearly 10,000 media files from two recent free photography competitions of public domain works held by museums: ''Wikipedia Loves Art'' was held in museums world-wide, and ''Wiki Loves Art'' was held in museums across the Netherlands. Wikimedia UK is currently planning ''Britain Loves Wikipedia'', a similar event to take place in museums across the UK, aimed at making Britain's cultural heritage more visible, freely across the world, via the internet. | ||
;EDITORS NOTES | ;EDITORS NOTES | ||
Revision as of 00:11, 2 September 2009
|
This press release is currently a draft, it has not yet been released. |
Milestone: 5 Years, 5 Million Media Files on Wikimedia Commons
N September 2009, The Internet: Wikimedia Commons, the media repository site used by Wikipedia, today reached the 5 million media files milestone. Every one of these media files is available under a free license, such that anyone can use them for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial. Wikimedia Commons is the largest free media repository on the internet. The repository is maintained by over 800,000 volunteers, over 20,000 active in the last month.
The media files come from a wide range of sources, from personal photography by Commons users to images from public archives. Everyone from every path of life can contribute to the repository, increasing the amount of public domain and freely-licensed educational media content available to the world.
Wikimedia Commons started 5 years ago this month. It reached 4 million media files a mere 6 months ago, on the 4th March 2009, after taking 8 months to go from 3 million to 4 million files. Amongst the 5 million files are 1,700 "featured" pictures -- the very finest on Wikimedia Commons.
In the last year, Wikimedia Commons has seen several substantial donations of media files. In December 2008, Bundesarchiv (the German Federal Archive) donated nearly 100,000 images. In March 2009, the State and University Library Dresden announced that they will donate nearly 250,000 images, which are in the process of being uploaded. These donations have been mutually beneficial: the archives have benefited from the work of Wikimedia volunteers in categorizing these images, checking their descriptions, linking them with appropriate metadata and adding the images to Wikipedia articles. This has led to increased visibility of their works online, and a substantial increase in visitors to their websites and the archives' sales of prints.
In August 2009, Regionarkivet (Sweden) donated high-resolutions scans of 27 images by important 19th century photographers to Wikimedia Sverige and Wikimedia Commons. These included works by the British photographers Francis Bedford and Roger Fenton.
Wikimedia Commons is also currently receiving influxes of nearly 10,000 media files from two recent free photography competitions of public domain works held by museums: Wikipedia Loves Art was held in museums world-wide, and Wiki Loves Art was held in museums across the Netherlands. Wikimedia UK is currently planning Britain Loves Wikipedia, a similar event to take place in museums across the UK, aimed at making Britain's cultural heritage more visible, freely across the world, via the internet.
- EDITORS NOTES
About Wikimedia Commons:
Wikimedia Commons is a free image and media file repository, and is a sister project to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It was started on 7 September 2004, and is operated by the Wikimedia Foundation.
About Wikimedia UK:
Wikimedia UK is the local Wikimedia chapter covering the United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is an independent organization that supports free and open knowledge throughout the United Kingdom, including promoting and supporting the projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.
About the Wikimedia Foundation:
(NB: included only if WMF is working with us on this press release)
The Wikimedia Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual content, and to providing the full content of its wiki-based projects to the public free of charge. It operates some of the largest collaboratively-edited reference projects in the world, including Wikipedia, one of the world's 10 most-visited websites.
All projects of the Wikimedia Foundation are collaboratively developed by volunteers using the MediaWiki software. Their content may be freely used, freely edited, freely copied and freely redistributed subject to the restrictions of that license.
Further information:
- Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/
- Featured pictures on Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Featured_pictures
- Britain Loves Wikipedia: http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Initiatives/Britain_Loves_Wikipedia
Contact details:
Andrew Turvey, Secretary, Wikimedia UK
- Email: secretary@wikimedia.org.uk
- Phone: +44 (0)7988 013 646
Paul Williams, Wikimedia UK
- Phone: +44 (0)7979 804 715