Practical Scalar Guide for the Field of Digital History

Obtaining Media

Since Scalar is a digital rather than physical platform for publishing, media will be an integral part of nearly every good Scalar book.  Unfortunately, however, obtaining media for a Scalar book is not as simple as performing a google image search for your media.  Copyright laws must be heeded and not infringed, lest the book be taken down and the author forced to pay potentially enormous fines for the unlicensed use of somebody else's media.  

Before sources can be explained in depth, there is one rule that should always be kept in mind:  

Just because it is online does not mean it is free.

Media cannot simply be used without attribution if it is not your media.  Owning your own media will be explained further in the page.  That being said, this statement excludes everything in the public domain.  The public domain is the realm in which works have either never been copyrighted, or they are old enough to the point where the copyright has expired and the work is now free for the public to use.  

This link from Cornell explains the public domain in depth.  Essentially, anything published before 1923 is in the public domain and is free for the author to use.  Other works published after that date have entered the public domain, but they are dealt with on a case by case basis.

Now here are some sources that will aid greatly in obtaining media for scalar:

Flickr 

Flickr is an online image repository.  Images on Flickr have a range of copyright restrictions, from creative commons licenses to media with no known restrictions.  Simply follow the requirements of the license on flickr and there will be no issues with the use of the media on a Scalar book.  Dates of the media can also be set, restricting media to a relevant time frame.


Google Image Search

Google image search can still be a powerful tool for obtaining media, if used correctly.  In search tools, the images can be filtered by their usage rights, allowing for the non-infringement of copyright law.

Owning Your Own Media

If media is difficult to come by, one option for authors is to buy physical media.  Stamps, postcards, posters, and even physical artifacts can be purchased for use in Scalar.  For example, historic advertisements can be procured online and then used for a source in Scalar.  Books do not apply here.  They still have to be cited.

 

 

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