National Library of Australia


Library image database

Project participants:
La Trobe University Library
Contact officer/s: Ted Chrisfield, Digital AV Projects & Services Librarian,  (email t.chrisfield@latrobe.edu.au, phone 03 9479 2137 or fax 03 9471 0993)
Project description:

In 1994 La Trobe University Library (Melbourne, Australia) successfully gained funding to develop an image database to improve access to course material in Health Sciences (digital copies of visual resources; xrays, slides,diagrams etc.) from all campus libraries. This has enabled the library to begin the development of a multimedia database to support the University teaching and research programmes.

In 2006 we are migrating the image collections to a new system to provide a number of improvements to services and provide a range of tools for clients to use the images in different ways.

The new system will allow the following advances over the current Library Image Database (LID)

  • Provides access to higher resolution images of our existing collections in archaeology, anatomy, art history, occupational therapy and zoology.
  • Provides the ability to search across all collections simultaneously and select images for creating new image collection groups.
  • Create slideshows within the system or export these to standalone presentations in ‘Powerpoint’ or html to be used in, for example, WebCT courses.
  • The ability to annotate images and provide links to other resources from within images used in slideshows.
  • Provides access to other institutional collections of images via the LUNA Insight collection registry comprising some 300,000 images @ http://www.davidrumsey.com/collections/

We expect the new system to be operational in second semester and the LID system will continue to operate until all current applications and collections are provided by the new system in 2007.

The library will also be investigating the use of the LUNA Insight system as a search and discovery and collection grouping tool for the library digital video and audio streaming collections, which are currently only accessible via the library catalogue.
URL of site:

http://luna.lib.latrobe.edu.au/

URL for project information:  
Content:
Digitisation policy and priorities:
Timetable: Completed project: 1994-1996
Budget and funding: The project was funded from the DEET National Priority (Reserve) Fund. Total budget: $A150,000 - $A250,000
Staff resources: Digitisation done by staff inhouse
Technical standards:
Cataloguing and indexing:
Comments:

Project managers wishing to update the details of their Australian digitisation projects, should email the changes to alg@nla.gov.au.

Last modified: March 30 2006.