Open Cultural Data Hackathon Coding Da Vinci – Bring the Digital Commons to Life

Abstract

For many years, libraries, archives and museums have digitized their cultural heritage and opened it, in parts, to the public. Its potential is far from being exploited to the full. And this is precisely where culture hackathons come in: software developer, engineers, designer, scholars, Wikipedians and other culture enthusiasts come together to work with these open data. They create and develop new apps, web pages, digital tools, and also new business ideas. The culture hackathon Coding Da Vinci Nord, held in Hamburg in September 2016, brought together over 100 participants: on the one hand software developers, designers and scholars, and specialists from 19 cultural institutions in Northern Germany, Denmark, and Sweden on the other. They eventually formed 17 teams, seven out of which worked with the open data sets of engravings, maps and architectural photographs from the special collections of Hamburg State and University Library for architectural city tours, games, films, and digital annotation tools. These projects are impressive examples to experience the digital commons in society. In this contribution, the focus will be on the progress of Hamburg State and University Library as cultural institution in opening its digital data to the public and on its experiences with the use of its data outside the cultural institutions proper - and thus out of the control of special collections curators. Which positive and negative lessons can be learned? What conclusions can be drawn from the activities at hackathons and what are the consequences?