Valentine Remix originated in early 2020 with a goal of broadening students' awareness of the public domain and the potential of out-of-copyright sources to spark creativity. Leveraging craft and play as tools for information and copyright literacy, the project brought together librarians from multiple units as facilitators and co-creators alongside students. Together, we created Valentines from public domain materials--elaborate Victorian-era cards from the Metropolitan Museum, photos of friends and animals from the Library of Congress--and found an opportunity to share informally about copyright and remix culture. To build on the success of this event, one of the last before the pandemic shut down libraries, in 2021 we created a companion web publication (https://oasandbox.domains.uflib.ufl.edu/omekas/s/valentine) with reusable images, digital postcards, and information about the public domain.
This lightning presentation will offer an overview of the Valentine Remix project, including issues commonly encountered by initiatives focused on the public domain. We will delve into lessons learned from developing both the in-person and digital experiences and the behind-the-scenes labor of planning and creating the project. Importantly, the presentation will highlight how we addressed ethical issues such as racial and ethnic representation in image collections and guidance for students in navigating potentially harmful or offensive materials.
After participating in this session, attendees will be able to:
- Identify ways to incorporate copyright instruction in informal and playful settings
- Assess resources required to develop hybrid projects with face-to-face and digital components
- Consider copyright literacy and the public domain in an open education context
