In the latest effort to bridge the disconnect between the government and new media, the Library of Congress officially launched its YouTube channel Tuesday.
The debut includes 70 historical videos from its vast collection, such as the first-ever movie (a man sneezing), 100-year-old films from the Thomas Edison studio and industrial films from Westinghouse factories.
The launch follows a collaboration last year with Flickr's "The Commons," when the Library of Congress released thousands of non-copyright images to the photo sharing service with 50 new photos uploaded each week.
"This is just the beginning," writes the library’s director of communications, Matt Raymond, on the LOC blog. “We have made a conscious decision that we’re not just going to upload a bunch of videos and then walk away.”
There are about 6 million works in the library’s collection, which it plans to also distribute through iTunes in the near future. Higher-res copies are available on LOC.gov.
More and more government agencies are looking to new media to bring more openness to the public.
The General Services Administration also recently announced agreements with several new media companies including Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo and blip.tv to facilitate usage by federal agencies, by clearing up legal issues surrounding liability and government sunshine rules.
The Library of Congress says it will explore these other services as well, when appropriate and as resources permit.
Here's a sampling of what you can find on the YouTube channel: the first sneeze (or any movement at all for that matter) captured on film and a documentary on "Rosie the Riveter."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04VNBM1PqR8
