ACRL Image Resources Discussion Group

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Charge: A forum for ongoing discussion of the unique issues presented by the development and support of interdisciplinary image resources in academic libraries.
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  • 1.  Using ARTstor in conjunction with other image databases

    Posted Aug 26, 2010 06:56 AM

    My university just subscribed to ARTstor, which is exciting - but we've also been developing a digital collection of our Visual Resources Center's slide library (in CONTENTdm) for the past several years. Does anyone have tips on how to educate users on the dual systems?

    Rachel Howard

    Digital Initiatives Librarian

    University of Louisville



  • 2.  RE: Using ARTstor in conjunction with other image databases

    Posted Aug 26, 2010 09:37 AM
    One thing we have done At Willamette is to now send our local collection to ARTstor. We try to do it twice a year.

    Bill

    On Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 6:07 AM, <connect@ala.org> wrote:

    (



  • 3.  RE: Using ARTstor in conjunction with other image databases

    Posted Aug 27, 2010 04:28 PM

    That's interesting Bill, I wonder how many others are contributing local collections to ARTstor? I guess if image rights are not an issue, there's really no reason not to consider it.

    Rachel: We've had ARTstor since before we acquired CONTENTdm. When we first got CONTENTdm, it was actually partly in response to our art departments' dislike of ARTstor. (Based on system problems with Mac-compatibility, and search problems due to inconsistent cataloging.) We kept our ARTstor subscrip, but didn't focus much attention on it while we were promoting our new CDM system - to avoid confusion. Now that our CDM collections are more well established (4 years in), I will usually discuss both with faculty. Though the two resources are quite different in many ways, I try to keep the message simple and just tell them that what's unique about CDM is that the collections are unique and often created to support our curriculum here. ...But that ARTstor has a high volume of images and is a good resource too.

    In a way it's sort of funny to me that some of us librarians seem to get hung up on the idea of wanting to provide one-stop-shopping for images, while we don't think anything of subscribing to hundreds of different serials/journal databases. <I'm not saying you're hung up on the idea...but I know that I was a little in the past!>

    Anyway, it's a great question, and I'd love to hear others thoughts...

    ~Joanna



  • 4.  RE: Using ARTstor in conjunction with other image databases

    Posted Aug 30, 2010 10:07 AM
    At Michigan we use the ARTstor API to give users access in a way that is mostly consistent with our other image collections, served with DLXS. It isn't perfect, but I've heard that faculty like it, in part because ARTstor images can be included in personal collections built with DLXS functionality. The ArtSTOR API has some limitations that are common of APIs in general. For example, there is a cap on how many results can be retrieved at once which makes integration with other search results difficult. I'd offer a link, but access is restricted to campus. I'm poking around for public info from ARTstor about their API but not finding anything, so you may need to contact support if you want to know more.


    John Weise
    Digital Library Production Service
    University of Michigan Library


    On Aug 27, 2010, at 6:37 PM, connect@ala.org wrote: