Today we're exploring image generators, which can be mashups (although "mashups" are any of a number of different media spliced and reworked). Use of these tools is a fun way to "play" with your institution's holdings. The products can be marketing tools, and would also be a valuable way to engage younger users (especially with potentially fragile items that they might not have as much access to). A review of copyright and creative commons licensing is helpful here, but, hopefully, your repository has acquired full copyright with the acquisition of Collection X, and you can forward some limited unreserved rights to your constituents.
For purposes of mashing, 23 Things for Archivists recommends Big Huge Labs, which is a free service with many available features.
The mashup below comes from a photograph of Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York. Lake Placid hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980. This arena is famous as the venue for the 1980 "Miracle on Ice", where an inexperienced Team USA, comprised of college players and post-collegiate amateurs, upset the powerhouse gold-medal favorite Soviet national team in the medal round. Team USA went on to win the gold medal in this arena, after defeating Finland. The arena (and story) has since been featured in the film "Miracle", which stars Kurt Russell as the charismatic head coach for whom the rink is now named.
It's obvious that, with a little imagination, this and other mashup tools could be a great way to grab attention for a repository. The Big Huge Labs site has many different features. Once an image is altered, also, it can be ordered. The Magazine Cover feature might be a great way to advertise a new exhibit at a particular archives! It's easy and fun, and definitely worth playing around with!
Happy morphing and mashing folks!
Bee
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