Using digital images in Arts research and

teaching

Birgit Plietzsch

Email: bp10

Phone: ext. 2315

Arts research and teaching?

What about the Sciences?

Contexts

• Local:– Digital image projects– Systematic long-term storage and retrieval

• National:– The Digital Picture – A future national digital image resource?

Retrieving digital images

• Scenario 1: CDs, DVDs, hard drive a more or less unsystematic collection of images

• Scenario 2: Databaseseach project develops their own image database

• Scenario 3: A central database one database mechanism for all projects

• Scenario 4: The future?Aiming for compatibility with a future national resource

Scenario 1: CDs

• Cheap to produce• No record keeping of

existing images• Finding right image can

be time consuming• Collaboration:

– sharing storage media– easy to lose part of the

image collection

• No integration with other image collections

Scenario 2: Databases

• Differences in:– the use of software

– database structures

– metadata and controlled vocabularies

• No integration of various image collections

• Future support and maintenance?

Scenario 3: A central database

• Costs arise once (development, s/w, h/w)

• Central database:– easier to support

– encourages collaboration

– consistent record keeping

• ITS deal with technical aspects

• Schools deal with content

Scenario 4: The future?

• a national image database?

• other external image databases?

compatibility and interoperability of different resources

How do we take it from here?

• Local and national consultation– Technical:

• IT support• Use of metadata and controlled vocabularies• Compatibility and interoperability

– Academic:• Varying needs of individual projects

• Legal issues:– Copyright

Workshop (7 Nov 2006)

Your academic input is needed:– What are you using digital images for?– How are you using digital images?– What functionality would you expect of an

image database?– How would you expect your students to use

an image database?– etc

Programme• Digitising images (Mick Eadie, AHDS Visual

Arts)• Digitising images in St Andrews

(Margaret Humfrey, Art History; Paul Vysny, History; Rebecca Sweetman, Classics)

• Copyright (Neil Dumbleton)• The Digital Picture / National developments

(Mick Eadie)• Breakout session

Watch this spot

… for further details of the workshop:http://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/

Birgit Plietzsch

Email: bp10Phone: ext. 2315