Can Scrensavers be an Engagement Tool?

A child of this digital age, my laptop is more than a tool, its a physical space where I work, play, think, relax.  I could pretend that this post was triggered because thinking about the spaces we inhabit is of interest to me.  Truthfully, I've been a junkie for pretty pictures and cool animation ever since the first flying toasters chased toast.  Luckily, that penchant can lead to deeper thoughts.


Today's early-morning-pre-coffee rumination was, "Hmm.  Christmas is over.  Need new screen saver that doesn't have presents and garlands in it. Wonder if there are history ones?" A simple search led to the cheesy screen saver sites of which a smart user is leery.   A few more minutes and I had found that PBS creates screen savers for some of its programming.  Those with a historical bent include: The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Ken Burn's The Civil War, Lewis and Clark, Tesla, and Theodore Roosevelt.  (For more, go to the PBS search page and put "screensaver" into the search box.) 


What about museums? Colleges and Universities discovered years ago that wall papers and screen savers featuring their campuses could draw alumni to an institution's website.  Surely museums have learned the same thing?  Along with this thought, however, came the question of resources.  How affordable/feasible is it to make a screen saver, even if you already have digitized images? Fast on the heels of THAT question...what about image policies and digital copyright? 


First, is the material available? Absolutely.  The Smithsonian's online exhibit, America by Air, has a page of images and objects.  The New York Historical Society online library has a digital collection, also.  (Check out Brooklyn Revealed for an example of a great history website.)  So pictures exist and are already online.  


The question of copyright from a user point of view boils down to "read the rules."  Some museums give you access to images and don't mind if you download for individual use, such as loading into a screensaver slideshow.  Others do mind.  Find, read, and follow the photography or images policy.  From an institutional viewpoint, have a policy.  Having spent last fall investigating museum policies, one of the mechanisms I found most useful as a user was the FAQ page offered within some policies.  A FAQ page allows the museum to answer specific questions such as "May I download an image to as a screen saver or wall paper on my personal computer?"


If the images are there, why then aren't there screen savers for download? I cannot be the first person to think of this.  Must be concern for resources.  While I can get my way around my laptop, I am not a power-user and definitely not a programmer.  However, my initial unscientific research suggests that creating an actual screen saver is much more than throwing some digital images together.  A screensaver is an application, one that must be specific to a platform i.e. PC or Mac, and one that would have to be written for each set of pictures.  Hmm.  Ok.  So where does that leave me as a user and as a professional?


Personally, depending on the institution's policy and my willingness to invest the time, I could download individual images into a folder, point my screensaver to the folder, and create a slideshow.  How can institutions benefit from the public's desire for images without spending significant resources?  My initial thought, based on half an hour of work and two cups of coffee, is this.  If your institution has digital images and a clear image-use policy, on a page where you offer individual images, also offer an option to download the entire set.  This allows me as an end use to have the entire set in a few key strokes instead of repeating the download process for each image.  


Where does this leave me this morning? Still with Christmas Trees flashing on the laptop screen when I stop to think a bit.  But also with the idea in the back of my head to be aware of collections of images I find while surfing history sites and the awareness to be thoughtful of how I professionally present images on web sites.  Now...what else can I find out there?