GLAM (industry sector)
Encyclopedia
GLAM is an acronym for "Galleries, Libraries
, Archive
s, and Museum
s", although other versions of the acronym exist, such as "LAM", which incorporates only Libraries, Archives and Museums. More generally, GLAMs are publicly-funded, publicly-accountable institutions collecting cultural and heritage material.
The term GLAM emerged as these institutions began to realise their roles and goals were converging, creating the need for a wider industry sector grouping. This became especially apparent as they placed their collections online—artworks, books, documents, and artifacts all effectively become equal 'information resources' when they are online.
As collecting institutions, GLAMs preserve and make accessible primary sources valuable for researchers.
In November and December 2010, "GLAM-WIKI" conferences about collaboration between GLAM institutions and the free culture
sector, specifically Wikimedia projects, were held in London
and Paris
.
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, Archive
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
s, and Museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s", although other versions of the acronym exist, such as "LAM", which incorporates only Libraries, Archives and Museums. More generally, GLAMs are publicly-funded, publicly-accountable institutions collecting cultural and heritage material.
The term GLAM emerged as these institutions began to realise their roles and goals were converging, creating the need for a wider industry sector grouping. This became especially apparent as they placed their collections online—artworks, books, documents, and artifacts all effectively become equal 'information resources' when they are online.
As collecting institutions, GLAMs preserve and make accessible primary sources valuable for researchers.
In November and December 2010, "GLAM-WIKI" conferences about collaboration between GLAM institutions and the free culture
Free Culture
Free Culture may refer to:* Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig* Free culture movement, a social movement for free culture...
sector, specifically Wikimedia projects, were held in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.