Digital Archival Collections Hosted on Flickr: Institutional Experience Outside of the Commons

This study describes an online survey of institutions which host digital archival collections on Flickr outside of the Flickr Commons. The survey was conducted to determine the experience of these institutions with Flickr in terms of usage statistics, user interaction, and assessment. The results from the survey were also used to determine factors which contribute to the success of a Flickr collection.

The majority of the eighty-nine institutions which responded to the survey reported satisfaction with Flickr and stated that they had achieved their goals. However, many respondents reported low usage or did not know the usage, which indicates weak evaluation. Factor analysis revealed that age, metadata creation, enabled social media tools, and number of staff members with time dedicated to the collection all related to the success of these collections. Recommendations for increasing usage are included.