Flickr

I did a search for "libraries" on Flickr and was surprised at how many beautiful pictures of library buildings are available (even one of the Hogwarts Library). This picture is of the inside of the New York Public Library. (Photo by T.SC)


In doing my search, I knew I would get a lot of results for libraries because lots of public and academic libraries are using Flickr as a promotional tool and as a way to connect to their communities. The Library of Congress has digitized public domain photos from their collection and added them to Flickr as a way to make them available to the world for research or interest. They currently have more than 4,500 photos available. Right now the Library of Congress photostream includes lots of photographs of baseball players from the early 20th Century as part of their News in the 1910s collection. They also have a collection of color photos from the 1930s and 1940s showing daily life during the Great Depression and World War II eras.

The Newton Free Library has been very successful at using Flickr to promote and highlight their services, staff, and programs. I've been impressed to watch their photostream grow over the past year or so.