Crowdsourcing in Danish Archives Asbjørn Hellum, Denmark

What is crowdsourcing? - More than an easy way to save money and get things done - Not the same as ”using volunteers” on site “…crowdsourcing represents the act of a company or institution taking a function once performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined (and generally large) network of people in the form of an open call”. (Jeff Howe, cited from Wikipedia) - The basic concept of participation is not new to the heritage institutions of Denmark

Danish Demographic Database (Danish State Archives) 18 mio. posts – about 1000 contributors – 1992 and still running

•Nygårds” Notes (Volunteer group / Danish State Archives ) posts – 5 photographers + ”keyers” •CPR tracks in the Danish Church Records pages – 160 contributers – and additional pages since then •Sejr’s Notes (Aarhus City Archives) posts – number of contributors unkown (basic indexing)

Police Register (Genealogical Societies / Cph. City Archives) 1,4 mio. posts – about 500 contributors (basic indexing) – has API

Municipal Records (Frederikshavn City Archives) pages uploaded for transcription to normal text

World War I casualties from the Southern part of Jutland 5,333 casualties were registered

Denmark seen from the air a national portal for aerial photography 8 af 16

Danish Demographic Database (Danish State Archives) 18 mio. posts – about 1000 contributors – 1992 and still running Nygård Notes (Volunteer group / Danish State Archives) posts – 5 photographers + ”keyers” CPR tracks in the Danish Church Records pages – 160 contributers – and additional pages since then Sejr’s Notes (Aarhus City Archives) posts – number of contributors unkown (basic indexing) Municipal Records (Frederikshavn City Archives) pages uploadet for transcription to normal text World War I casualties from the Southern part of Jutland 5,333 casualties were registered Denmark seen from the air a national portal for aerial photography Danish examples of crowdsoursing

User perspective: What´s in it for me?

- I want to contribute to something valuable and lasting - I want to help people who have interests similar to mine - I want recognition, influence, social activities – and maybe a little gift? - I participate in building a shared infrastructure - It is a way to use the cultural heritage institutions

Crowdsourcing as a business model? - A way to avoid pointless projects? - A road to relevance? - A way of transforming your organisation? CrowdsourcingMinister Crowdsourcing

A coming crowdsourcing project - The Danish West Indies online - A way giving the West Indies their history back

De folketællinger, der er blevet indtastet færdigt, dvs og 1880 (og 1885) Kirkebøgernes indhold dækker et stort antal år ( ) og mange forskellige begivenheder. I alt er der, indtil videre, blevet indtastet over 15 millioner poster fra arkivalierne i Statens Arkiver - især folketællinger og kirkebøger. Herved er det blevet en hel del lettere for brugerne at gå online og finde svar vedrørende "fortidsdanskere" i Danmarks historie. Mere end 1,5 millioner brugere Allerede i 1996 kunne alle frit søge i databasen og portalen blev straks en succes. Faktisk var der så mange brugere at, man fra webudbyderens side blev mistænksom og lukkede sitet. Internettet var stadigvæk ungt dengang og udbyderen troede fejlagtigt, at den store interesse måtte skyldes, at der var tale om porno. Misforståelsen blev rettet og lige siden har man uden hindringer kunnet søge efter forfædre i databasen, der hvert år besøges af mere end 1,5 millioner brugere.