February 1, 2004, vol. 1, no. 1
Image Stuff Archive (coming soon)
Co-editors: Corey Schultz (Stanford University) & Kristin Solias (University of Massachusetts, Boston)
Table of Contents
Introducing: Image Stuff!
From the President's Keyboard
Online Resources - Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur
Slides & Digital Image Sets
Equipment Reviews
Professional Development - Summer Educational Institute
Ask the Expert
Chapter News
Introducing: Image Stuff!
We are pleased to introduce the creation of this new bi-monthly newsletter for the VRA community. Throughout 2004, we will be soliciting VRA members for content in the areas of online resources, new image sets, and recent copyright developments. This is your chance to share your knowledge and experience with the rest of us! Please email the co-editors, Kristin and Corey for information on how you can contribute to Image Stuff.
What a pleasure it is to welcome you to the launch of Image Stuff, the first online newsletter of the Visual Resources Association. And just in time for our 22nd annual conference in the City of Roses, Portland, Oregon. I'm sure that I speak for the membership in thanking Kristen and Corey for making this happen, with the help of Amy Stidwell and Christine Hilker. They've done a great job and I look forward to clicking a button to get the latest VRA news.
This is the perfect opportunity for me to express my appreciation to the Publication Program Group (PPG), headed up by our new Public Relations and Communication Officer, Christine Hilker. PPG is VRA's "communication central." The people of PPG are: Wendy Holden, Astrid Otey, Mark Pompelia, Eric Schwab, Corey Schultz, Kristin Solias, Amy Stidwill, and John Taormina. When it comes to publications, this group does it all and they do it well: brochures, VRA Bulletin, VRAweb.org, conference programs, bulletins, newsletter, sourcebook, the list-serve, etc.
VRA members know a lot and want to share it (just hang out on VRA-L for a day!). With your participation, Image Stuff promises to be a lively forum.
Elisa Lanzi, VRA President
Online Resources
Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur (http://www.bildindex.de)
Reviewed by Kristin Solias, UMass Boston
Last fall one of our faculty members brought in a huge stack of postcards from Germany to be made into slides. The works depicted ranged from major works in major museums to small objects in small treasuries. Thinking that if the French had the Base Joconde and other centralized databases the Germans would certainly have one too, I did a Google search. I found the Bildindex, an enormous database of art and architecture and a project of Foto Marburg. Just about everything in every repository in Germany, be it a museum or church, is in this database... oh, and the buildings themselves are in there too.
The information is comprehensive: years are given for the date(s) of creation as well as alteration and restoration (where applicable), patrons are noted when known, and ICONCLASS subjects are provided. There are four indexes for browsing (Location, Artist, Iconography, and Views and Portraits) and an advanced search option with 21 fields, but I have found that the keyword search on the main page is the easiest and fastest way to find what I want. Since this began as a photo archive, most entries have accompanying thumbnails so you can be sure you have found the correct record. And should you find that their image is better than the one you are cataloguing, you can always purchase it through Foto Marburg (see http://www.fotomarburg.de/fmwebsite/fmrpreis_e.htm for their pricelist).
My one caveat is that it is all in German. However, as long as you have a German dictionary handy, you will be fine. I seem to have always had a mental block when it comes to German, so if I can navigate this site, anyone can. Of course, there is always the Google translator (for a laugh, if nothing else).
Slides & Digital Image Sets
Have you recently purchased a fabulous slide or digital image set? Let the rest of us know about it by writing a review. Contact Corey or Kristin for information.
Equipment Reviews
Have you researched a new scanner or digital camera? Share your findings with the rest of the VRA! Contact Corey or Kristin for information.
Professional Development
John Taormina, Duke University
Summer Educational Institute Launched for July 2004
The Visual Resources Association and Art Libraries Society of North America announce the first Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management to be held at Duke University July 7-10 2004. Registration is February 1 - April 30, 2004.
Over the past two years, the two organizations have jointly developed a special curriculum for training in the areas of visual resources and image management-training not often found in library and information science degree programs-with a focus on the issues related to the transition from analog to digital image collection development and management. This intensive, 4-day workshop will be particularly useful for beginning visual resources professionals. Attendees will receive certification of attendance and completion from the sponsoring organizations.
Topics to be addressed include General Administration and VR Management; Cataloging, Metadata, and Data Standards; The VRA Core; Analog Image Management; Digital Image Management; Integrating Analog and Digital Image Management; Legal Aspects and Intellectual Property Rights Issues; and Resources, Reference and Research. Instructors will be drawn from professionals in the field of visual resources and library and information science. Tuition is $575 for ARLIS/NA and VRA members and $625 for non-members.
For additional information, go to http://www.vraweb.org/2004sei/
Ask the Expert
While VRA-L provides a wonderful place to ask questions and receive advice, the numerous experts often do not have the time to respond fully to each request. The upcoming Portland conference will feature a new "Ask the Expert" forum each day during lunch to respond to this need for more information. Because there are limited time slots and many members cannot even attend the conference, we will be offering a regular opportunity to "ask an expert" through this newsletter. If you cannot make it to Portland or cannot get a spot with an expert, please send us your question and we will pass it on to the appropriate expert(s), and the answer will be published in Image Stuff to the benefit of all.
Chapter News
Greater Philadelphia
This small but active chapter held their (delayed) fall meeting at Villanova University, PA on January 22, 2004. The program consisted of an introduction to the art collections and a viewing of "Color Encounters", the current exhibition of abstract paintings by Maryann S. Matlock-Hinkle, at the Art Gallery, Connelly Center. This was the group's first visit to Villanova, courtesy of Slide Librarian Alice Bampton.
Greater NYC and Upstate New York
Members from these two chapters met in the fall for a joint meeting at Dia:Beacon (http://www.diabeacon.org/). Randi Millman-Brown, VR Curator at Ithaca College, gave a short lecture on creating a copyright policy for an institution. Last year Randi spearheaded an effort to draft a copyright policy for Ithaca College. A copyright committee consisting of Ithaca College Academic Computing, the Library, the Slide Library, a faculty member, and the Provost met about every six weeks, and the result is a 14 page draft that is in the process of approval from various college sectors. The speaker advocated articulating clearly the rationale for the copyright policy, and examining the college's rules and procedures of approval before presenting the final draft to the Board of Trustees. She also suggested linking a college's copyright website to the DMCA or the Teach Act. Randi handed out the Ithaca College draft and explained that the image section was basically about usage. It outlined what the faculty and students are allowed to do with an image. As of January 2004, the policy will be discussed and hopefully approved by Faculty Council at their next meeting.
Dustin Wees, Data Editor for ARTStor, spoke about recent events at ARTstor (http://www.artstor.org/). The Clark Art Institute and Williams College are testing an early version of ARTstor's 150,000 image database that is searchable through their website. Dustin believes there will be about 400,000 images to search when ARTstor completes scanning and loading all of the images from the acquired collections. They are developing Luna Insight Client-like software to create image groupings. Linda Reynolds from Williams College said she is looking for feedback from students and that she found it easy to navigate the site. A discussion ensued about faculty use of image databases.
New England
In December 2003, the VRA national board approved the New England Chapter's bylaws, making the chapter official. VRA members from around New England had already met twice. In June 2003, members met at Wheaton College in Norton, MA, where Curator Christin Ronolder gave a presentation on ISIS (Integrated Slide & Information Resource), Wheaton's FileMaker-based online image review system. Alex Wu of UConn gave a demonstration of his FileMaker catalogue and showed images of UConn's current slide library as well as models of a new arts complex designed by Frank Gehry. In October 2003, New Englanders met again in Worcester, MA at a meeting organized by Karl Cole of Davis Art Images and Debby Aframe of the Worcester Art Museum. The day began at Davis with a brief history of the business by company president Wyatt Wade, followed by a tour of the slide production and digital imaging facilities by Karl and colleagues Tom Fiorelli, Anette Mcintire, and Julia McCandless. After a discussion of the by-laws during lunch at the Worcester Club, the group headed to Worcester Art Museum, where Debby Aframe and the registrar spoke about how slides and digital images are used at the museum. The day was topped off by a guided tour of the museum by Director James A. Welu, including a sneak peek of the special exhibit "Paths to Impressionism". The first official meeting of the chapter will focus on planning for digitization and will be held in May 2004, though the date and location have yet to be determined.
Northern California
UC Berkeley hosted a joint meeting of the Northern California chapters of VRA and ARLIS on December 12, 2003. There were 63 attendees, 26 of which were current or potential VRA members. The meeting offered three speakers who were involved in digitization projects at UCB: Mary Elings of UCB Bancroft Library spoke on "Digital Library Building Blocks: An Update"; Robin Chandler of the California Digital Library gave a presentation entitled "California Digital Library Image Service Project"; and Jason Baker of the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archives demonstrated the "BAM/PFA Digital Asset Management Database." In the afternoon, participants toured the new UCB Environmental Design Library and Archives, and the Architecture Visual Resources Library. The next VRA chapter meeting is tentatively scheduled for May 2004 in Santa Cruz.