1. Open Data Workshop:
The Rijksmuseum
Hacking Experience
Lizzy Jongma & Inge Giesbers

2. Our data is open!
Did you know the
Rijksmuseum
Yes, you can
opened their
harvest it with
data ?
their API !

3. Why open data?
• E-strategy
• Institutional values:
authentic, quality, personal,
innovative, simplicity
• Mission: ‘The Rijksmuseum
connects people, Art and History’
• Interaction with the public

4. And what about the images?

5. Why now?
• Open Cultuur Data
• Apps voor Nederland
• Europeana

6. What did it take?
• An API (Application Programming Interface)
• Registration of copyright data
• Selection of copyrightfree objects
…. And a room full of nerds

7. Copyright project
• Unknown territory
• No fields for registration
• Comparative research
• Create awareness

9. How much data is open?
• 500.000 records in Adlib
• 250.000 records on our website
• 111.000 records in the API (criteria)
• ‘CC-by’ and ‘fair use’

10. Further steps in copyright
• Clear copyright
• Explanation on the
website
• Separate copyright
agreement

11. API, OAI-PMH…
• From Adlib to Open
• Users and sets, sets and users
• Harvest, query, set
• LOD, RDF, DC and
programmers…
• Back end and user support

12. Rijksmuseum API

13. What is special?
• High quality images
• CC-by license metadata
and images
• Largest open data
art collection

14. What has been archieved so far?
• 16 apps
• 207 harvests
• Kennisnet,
ARTstor,
Bioportaal,
Les2.0
• Europeana

15. A few Examples:
Faces of the Rijksmuseum

16. Iconclass browser
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/api?lang=nl

17. Rijks Add notes

18. Rijksify

19. Further steps API
• Expansion of the Open Collection
• User specific sets (Golden age, portraits,
tulips)
• Search options
• Various data formats
• Connecting to other sites and portals
• LOD, RDF

20. Lessons learned
• More apps and harvests than expected
• Much more requests and questions
than expected
• Positive publicity and feedback
• No loss of income
• No more angry colleagues (after a while)
• Apps are difficult to integrate
• Supprised by interest from portals and abroad
• App contents are fun.
Enjoy! (but don’t expect them to solve all
your problems)
… Don’t show explicit art to American programmers

21. Any questions?
Inge Giesbers (Information Specialist)
i.giesbers@rijksmuseum.nl
Lizzy Jongma (Datamanager)
l.jongma@rijksmuseum.nl