On Tuesday, May 10, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Yale University had announced “that it is making digital images of objects in its many collections freely available online.” The university’s official announcement stated, “In a departure from established convention, no license will be required for the transmission of the images, and no limitations will be imposed on their use. The result is that scholars, artists, students, and citizens the world over will be able to use these collections for study, publication, teaching, and inspiration.” 
Currently more than 250,000 images are available, with thousands more to be made accessible in the future. All of the items are searchable through an online catalog with basic, advanced, and faceted search modes. The digital images are drawn from the following institutions: Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale Center for British Art, Yale University Art Gallery, Yale University Library, Yale University on iTunes U. Among the images being made available are the war bonnet of Sioux chief Red Cloud, a Mozart sonata in the composer’s own hand, an 1810 map based on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, John Turnbull’s painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and a fossil of an extinct trilobite Cambropallas telesto from Morocco. Click here for a slideshow of some highlights.
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