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Advice on Still images
Still images: Managing your digital resources
This section covers all aspects of organising and managing a sustainable digital image collection, whether large or small. These papers are aimed at staff who will provide support for managing digital collections. They also provide valuable advice to small collection owners so they can manage their digital assets.
Approaches to Describing Images
The following paper seeks to provide background to some methods for describing images that may be deployed by those building shared image collections. While the emphasis is on describing digital still images, those developing collections in other multimedia formats - particularly video - may find some of the methods and research outlined here applicable.
Read full advice document...Choosing a File Format for Digital Still Images
The choice of file formats can often prove overwhelming for someone new to the world of digital imaging. The aim of this document is to explain some of the factors that should be considered before choosing a format and suggest suitable file formats for specific applications.
Read full advice document...Choosing a System for Managing your Image Collection
It can be a daunting task choosing a system for managing an image collection - especially if you intend to use it to share your collection with colleagues or the wider world via the Web. As the companion paper to this indicates, there are a very wide variety of options (see Systems for Managing Digital Media Collections). You will probably find it useful to read that paper before you read this one.
Read full advice document...Copyright and Still Images: Frequently Asked Questions
This advice document is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) JISC Digital Media has received about copyright in relation to digital still images.
Read full advice document...Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright
This document is intended as a quick reference guide, answering frequently asked questions about copyright. You are advised to check reference works and/or seek legal advice for your specific circumstances.
Read full advice document...Image Management Software
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. We asked each of them the same set of questions, and the following is a list of those who have responded so far. Follow the links to find out more about each system.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Bright Interactive Asset Bank
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Bright Interactive Asset Bank.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Cerious ThumbsPlus
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Cerious ThumbsPlus.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Daydream FocusOPEN
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Daydream FocusOPEN.
Read full advice document...Image Management: exeGesIS LibraryLink
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from exeGesIS LibraryLink.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Extensis Portfolio
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Extensis Portfolio.
Read full advice document...Image Management: FotoWare FotoWeb
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from FotoWare FotoWeb.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Gallery
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Gallery.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Gallery Systems EmbARK
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Gallery Systems EmbARK.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Gallery Systems TMS (The Museum System)
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Gallery Systems TMS (The Museum System).
Read full advice document...Image Management: Greenstone
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Greenstone.
Read full advice document...Image Management: House of Images HPAC
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from House of Images HPAC.
Read full advice document...Image Management: iBase Online Library and Asset Management
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from iBase Online Library and Asset Management.
Read full advice document...Image Management: IMatch Digital Image Management Solution
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from IMatch Digital Image Management Solution.
Read full advice document...Image Management: imgSeek
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from imgSeek.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Innovative Millennium
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Innovative Millennium.
Read full advice document...Image Management: KE EMu
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from KE EMu.
Read full advice document...Image Management: LogicMighty MediaLibrary
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from LogicMighty MediaLibrary.
Read full advice document...Image Management: LogicMighty PhotoLibrary
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from LogicMighty PhotoLibrary.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Luna Imaging Insight Software Suite
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Luna Imaging Insight Software Suite.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Madison Digital Image Database (MDID)
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Madison Digital Image Database (MDID).
Read full advice document...Image Management: ModesXML
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from ModesXML.
Read full advice document...Image Management: OCLC CONTENTdm
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from OCLC CONTENTdm Digital Collection Management Software.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Picdar Media Mogul
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Picdar Media Mogul.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Third Light Image Management System (IMS)
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Third Light Image Management System (IMS).
Read full advice document...Image Management: Willoughby MIMSY XG
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Willoughby MIMSY XG.
Read full advice document...Image Management: Zetcom MuseumPlus
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Zetcom MuseumPlus.
Read full advice document...Metadata and Digital Images
Working with metadata can be a very time-consuming and resource heavy activity, so it is important to have a firm understanding of your objectives before initial decisions are made. Before reading this advice document, it is worth familiarising yourself with the document An Introduction to Metadata.
Read full advice document...Model Release - Permission to Use Images of People
Frequently asked questions about Model Release.
Read full advice document...Photo Sharing Sites
This advice document looks at the most common features offered by a number of photo sharing sites, highlights the pros and cons of using such sites, and offers some practical tips for both finding images and organising your own images.
Read full advice document...Using Blogs to Find and Organise Images
Blogs tend to be text-based but they often also include images. This advice document provides an overview of blogs, considering how they can be used as both sources of images and as tools for managing and presenting your own images.
Read full advice document...Using Flickr to Organise a Collection of Images
This document looks at the ways you can use the photo sharing site Flickr and some of its associated tools and services to help organise a collection of images.
Read full advice document...Using Optical Media for Digital Preservation
This document looks at the issues involved with storing digital images on optical media, specifically recordable CDs and DVDs.
Read full advice document...Using Wikis to Find and Organise Images
Wikis are websites that allow groups of users to collaborate on content creation. Although largely text-based, they can include images. This document looks at ways in which you might use wikis as a source of images for use in your own work. It also provides an overview of how wikis handle images for those who already use or are thinking of setting up a wiki.
Read full advice document...Watermarking Images
A watermark is used to convey indelible information about an image to the audience: this might include the name of the copyright owner, date of creation, a logo, contact details, URL and restrictions of usage. Watermarks assist in controlling the use and distribution of images; the more sophisticated systems can support the tracking of protected images across the web. A watermark however, does not prevent unauthorised use of an image, it only informs the end-user that they are using a protected image. Users can choose to ignore this warning.
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Related cross-media advice:
An Introduction to Digital Preservation
Digital preservation aims to ensure that a digital collection remains usable, regardless of the inevitable changes in technology the future will bring. Without the appropriate preservation methods in place a digital collection can easily become inaccessible and so useless in just a few years. This paper discusses the preservation of digital output and the associated metadata.
Read full advice document...An Introduction to Metadata
This is the first in a series of advice documents about metadata. In general the documents are aimed at those developing managed and sharable digital collections and are of use to those creating still image, moving image or audio collections. This first document defines metadata and introduces some of the key themes and issues that are dealt with in more depth later on.
Read full advice document...Asset Management: Papermule DAM & Workflow Engine
JISC Digital Media has surveyed a range of image management software developers to gather specific information about their systems. These are the responses from Papermule DAM & Workflow Engine.
Read full advice document...Audiovisual Copyright: Frequently Asked Questions
By reviewing copyright enquiries which have reached us via our helpdesk, we've collated answers to some of the most common. These are presented here as an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).
Read full advice document...Choosing a File Name
File naming is a vital first step for those beginning to digitise. This document examines planning and using an effective file naming system when managing digital files. This paper highlights the advantages of using the 8.3 convention and looks at some options when naming derivative, surrogate files.
Read full advice document...Controlling your Language: a Directory of Metadata Vocabularies
This directory provides details of more than 70 vocabulary sources. It categorises the various types of vocabularies available to us as Thesauri, Subject headings, Authority lists and Classification schemes. Thesauri, subject headings and word lists more generally, are used primarily in aiding retrieval, whereas Classification schemes help us to organise resources, and Authority Lists help us to standardise the expression of values used in our metadata, like, for example, the way we enter names and dates. Although there are overlaps, broadly speaking each serves a different purpose in helping to control the terminology used in our schemas and in aiding the search and retrieval of our resources.
Read full advice document...Copyright: An Overview
Copyright and other intellectual property rights are central to the development, use and sustainability of digital collections. This advice document provides a broad overview of copyright.
Read full advice document...Delicious Bookmark Service
This advice document brings to your attention the free online bookmark service Delicious. Its ability to allow you to manage bookmarks by saving, searching and sharing will be of interest to anybody who has to manage many bookmarks for individuals or groups. It has applications of use for teaching and learning which will be described below.
Read full advice document...Establishing a Digital Preservation Policy
This paper looks at the high-level challenges associated with establishing a digital preservation policy. It is intended to be of use to readers responsible for managing digital media collections. For hands-on digital preservation advice see the document An Introduction to Digital Preservation.
Read full advice document...File Formats and Compression
This document looks at the theory of file formats and the common methods of data compression.
Read full advice document...Graphical User Interface Design: Developing Usable and Accessible Collections
This paper looks at the development of a graphical user interface (GUI) for a digital collection. It takes a general view of facilitating effective access to a digital resource and then examines more closely the issues of usability and then accessibility. It is intended to be of use to collection managers wishing to grant access to a digital resource.
Read full advice document...Links to Digital Media and Digital Preservation Organisations
The list below survey a selection of audiovisual and digital preservation related organisations and provides links to their websites.
Read full advice document...Metadata Standards and Interoperability
This advice document aims to provide a comprehensive look at the various choices the developer of multimedia collections has in terms of metadata standards and the principles behind using them. It attempts to provide a synopsis of general metadata trends, a) in usage for audio, moving and still image format types; b) in specific areas of practice such as museums, archives, libraries and education; and, c) in various activities and tasks such as preservation, interoperability and resource discovery. For an overview of the whole series of papers, and an introduction to the metadata issues discussed here, please see An Introduction to Metadata.
Read full advice document...Overview of JISC Digital Media Materials for those involved in Business and Community Engagement
This guide provides an overview of the JISC Digital Media website, highlighting materials we think may be of particular use to HE/FE staff involved in business or community engagement (BCE).
Read full advice document...Putting Things in Order: a Directory of Metadata Schemas and Related Standards
This directory provides a list of formal metadata schemas and related standards giving brief descriptions and links to further information. It complements JISC Digital Media's series of advice documents on metadata, which the reader is strongly advised to read alongside this resource.
Read full advice document...Sustainability of Digital Collections
Once funding for a digitisation project comes to an end, how will you ensure the long term sustainability of your newly-created collection? This is a fundamental question that needs to be addressed at the outset of the project. This document looks at different approaches to sustainability and discusses the factors you need to take into consideration when planning for sustainability. We will highlight the practical steps a project can take and examine various options for financing the ongoing maintenance and availability of the collection beyond the life of the project.
Read full advice document...Systems for Managing Digital Media Collections
Everyone's collection and context is unique, so your choice of a system (or systems) for managing your digital media will require a careful assessment of your needs and resources and an evaluation of the available options. This paper provides an overview of a number of different approaches to media management: from some very cheap and 'low-tech' approaches to much more complex and specialised solutions.
Read full advice document...Use of VLEs with Digital Media
This advice document gives you an overview of the things to consider when using digital media in your Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Read full advice document...Using Digital Media in Moodle
This advice document is intended to provide an understanding of how digital media can be used in the Moodle VLE to support teaching and learning. We will be referring to the term digital media as: still images, moving image and audio. Each may be used in conjunction with written learning material.
Read full advice document...Using Digital Media with Blackboard
This advice document aims to introduce the Blackboard virtual learning environment (VLE) and how you can use digital media to support your Blackboard course design, content, and delivery. We will be referring to the term digital media as: still images, moving image and audio. Each may be used in conjunction with written learning material.
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