Memorial Library - Visual Resources Guide

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Visual Resources Guide

Multimedia FAQ:

Where can I find Images?
Where can I find Video clips or Sound clips?
How can I use Images / Video / Sound in a presentation?
Can I borrow a digital camera or digital video camera?
Where can I get help on editing or using digital Images / Video / Sound?
How do I cite multimedia in an academic project? (Yes, you must cite it!)

Finding Images:

Use Image Databases orWeb Search Engines

Need art images? Try our companion guide: Finding Art Images.

In image or media searching, variety is essential.

Use a variety of tools & search strategies.

Search tools for image formats are not well developed, compared to finding articles or other text objects. Since most image search tools do not have standardized subject headings, use a variety of keywords to search.

Library image databases (usually higher quality than on regular web pages):

SUNY Cortland subscribes to these databases; access is limited to current SUNY Cortland faculty, staff, and students.

ARTstor - Library database listed on the Art and Art History databases page. Very high quality images. Offers display tools with zoom and pan capabilities.

ARTstor is a rich digital library of art images and descriptive information, with special tools for image presentation. The online or off-line viewers, created for classroom use, visually display the images with better resolution than downloading the image and using it in other tools such as PowerPoint. ARTstor's content includes approximately 400,000 images covering art, architecture and archeology. Its several collections represent artistic traditions across many times and cultures and embrace architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture. This resource is made available solely for educational and scholarly uses that are noncommercial in nature.

AP MultiMedia Archive - Not primarily art pictures, but contains historical photos. Library database listed on the Art and Art History databases page.

The AP MultiMedia Archive is made up of photos, full text of AP news stories, and audio files. It contains some 400,000 contemporary (1995-present) state, regional, and national photos from North America, as well as some historical photos and the best of the international photo report. The photos are in JPEG format, with an average compressed file size of 500KB for contemporary pictures and up to 1.5MB for historical photos. The archives also contain over 700,000 pieces of text and 500,000 audio clips. Accunet/AP Multimedia Archive is an educational product and may not be used for commercial purposes. Students and faculty are encouraged to print and download images for papers, presentations, and student and faculty web sites. However, use in yearbooks, newspapers, playbills or promotional items are not permitted under our license.

Grove Art Online - The premier art encyclopedia; contains some images and links to images. Library database listed on the Art and Art History databases page.

Grove Art Online provides web access to the entire text of The Dictionary of Art, ed. Jane Turner (1996, 34 vols.) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art, ed. Hugh Brigstocke (2001). It offers ongoing additions of new and updated articles, over 1,500 thumbnail art images and line drawings displayed in the text of articles, extensive image links, and sophisticated search and navigation tools.

Search engines and multimedia search pages:

American Memory Project - from the Library of Congress.
Publically available, copyright-free images and recordings. Includes historical motion pictures, sheet music, maps, sound recordings, photos, prints, & advertisements. Mostly American items owned by the Library of Congress. Find collections containing specific formats by clicking on their Browse page.

Technical Specs

First, think about how your digital object will be used:

PowerPoint or other presentation?
Web page or computer display?
Printed document or large format poster?
How big do you need it to be visually?
How small do you need the file to be to store it, move it, or download it?

Image resolution or sound & motion quality
is related to
Compression and File Format

Computer image files are in pixels:

Full screen usually is 1024 x 768 (w x h)
Printed images are in dots per inch: Aim for 200-300 dpi

When evaluating a video clip, compare it to standard videotape:

displays at 720 x 480 pixels
29.97 fps (frames per second)

Once an image is compressed, you cannot expand it. Save the original at high resolution, even if you use a compressed version in your current product.

Images:
— Compressed: .jpg, .gif, .png
— Not compressed: .bmp, .tif
Multimedia: .mpg/.mpeg, .mov/.qt, .rm, .avi

All of these file formats vary in resolution.

Help editing and using multimedia

For advice on how digital objects can be incorporated into presentations, posters, or other digital displays, contact Production Services at Memorial Library.

Rights & Cites

1. ALWAYS cite where you got the object from and if possible, who created it.

In an oral presentation, you should mention as part of your presentation where you got the object or who created it. You should have available a complete source citation in case anyone asks for it. If you are using visual aids such as PowerPoint, it is good practice to have a "Resources" slide at the end with complete citations to all sources you used in the presentation.

In other displays, when possible, note the source or creator of an image or other object next to the object or object link. A complete citation of where you got any object you use and the date you retrieved it should always be available upon request. For example, on a large format poster usually a note of the creator of an image just under the image is sufficient if you have a handout available with a more complete citation.

If you have other questions about citation, ask at the Reference Desk in Memorial Library (IM: cortlandrefdesk, phone: (607) 753-2590 or X2820).

Cite your sources.
It’s not the law, it’s just a good idea!

2. ALL multimedia objects and images are subject to copyright laws.

You can use images, sound, and video in any way you want if:
• they are U.S. (federal) government property, or
• they have been declared in the Public Domain, or
• you created all of the object legally (on your property or public property)

Your use for a class project, for research, or in a published review might be considered Fair Use, in which case you would not have to get permission to use the object. Only the court can determine if a specific instance fits the Fair Use definition, but the courts use a set of guidelines called the...

Four Factor Fair Use Test:

Type of use (is it educational? commercial? one-time or repeated?)

Type of object (how much creativity is involved?)

Extent of object used (10 seconds of a movie? the entire image?)

Effect on the market (is anyone going to lose money because of your use?)

These guidelines cannot tell you for sure if a certain use is Fair Use. All these factors would be weighed in a court case. If an entire video clip is shown (usually a violation) but it was as part of a class (tipping toward Fair or Educational use) and the video pretty much showed lists of facts (not much creativity) but the company selling it is trying to market to students in this kind of class (potential loss of commercial income) - in such a case, no one can definitely say how a court would rule.

You can find more information on Copyright Issues in Teaching with Technology (by Dakota Wesleyan University): http://www.dwu.edu/technology/copyright/multimedia.htm

The Policy on Fair Use of Copyrighted Works for Education was approved by the President's Cabinet of SUNY Cortland in May, 1999. Questions, concerns and comments may be directed to the Director of Libraries, Gail Wood (607-753-2221) the contact person for campus copyright concerns and SUNY Cortland's designated agent under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

If you have any remaining questions, please contact the
Reference Desk in Memorial Library
(IM: cortlandrefdesk, phone: (607) 753-2590 or X2820).

Visual Resources Guide prepared by Julia E. Schult, January 2006