Publishing in many arts disciplines is enriched by, and may rely on, the use of images. Authors have long found the hurdles and the fees for using these images to be daunting, and the move to digital publishing can make this problem worse. Open-access publishing can prove even more challenging. If scholarship in art history, art criticism, visual studies and other fields is going to thrive in a future where digital and open-access publishing are the norm, we need better options. Fortunately, we have already seen signs that a better future is possible, and communities have been creating resources to make it more likely. Raising the awareness of the individuals and organizations in the art scholarship publishing ecosystem about these resources is a crucial first step toward a shared vision for scholarly publishing in the arts: one that encourages academic freedom and broad engagement through openness and a better understanding of the law.

UC graduate students write thousands of dissertations and theses every year, making unique contributions to scholarship. Newly authored works are submitted digitally and find global audiences online, but what about the older ones languishing in print and microformats in high density storage facilities? These materials are essentially unavailable to all but those who have the resources to travel to a library to read a physical copy or who can pay for digital scans. Because of the timeless and ongoing value of theses and dissertations, and to make these scholarly resources more equitably available, three UC campuses and CDL have been exploring paths to make these “vintage” works accessible worldwide via eScholarship and/or HathiTrust. Speakers on this panel from UCSF, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and CDL will describe the legal, technical, and logistical issues they faced when pursuing this goal. Different strategies were employed in each of these projects, resulting in different outcomes. Panelists will cover successes and obstacles--including those they were unable to surmount--and any new strategies that are currently being considered.