Electronic Highways

AP Photo Archive: The Who? What? Where? When? How? And Why?

WHO may use the AP Photo Archive? The Photo Archive is made available via the Internet to UB students, faculty and staff with valid IDs. You do need a PC (Windows 95 or NT) or Mac with Netscape Communicator 4.04 or higher or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher to enter the Archive.

WHAT is the AP Photo Archive? It is an electronic library containing the Associated Press' current photos and a selection of pictures from their 50-million-image print-and-negative library. Composed of two photo archives, the "Euro/Asian Photos" is a regional European/Asian source, and the "International Photos" is the entire Photo Archive database, consisting of approximately 500,000 state, regional and national photos from North America, as well as the best international photos. Both are updated daily, with an average of 800 photos added each day. The best 200 are saved, while the remainder are eliminated from the archive after 12 months. The continuously growing historical collection of the archive features political leaders, historical figures, sports greats and celebrities. It also offers images from significant news events of the 20th century, such as World War II, the civil rights movement, space exploration, etc. The earliest photograph available is an 1844 photograph of Abraham Lincoln.

WHERE can you find AP Photo Archive? You can find the Photo Archive on the UB Libraries' BISON Databases by title page at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/alpha.html or you can go directly to the site at http://accuweather.ap.org.

WHEN is this available? The Photo Archive is currently available and you can access this site at the more than 150 new workstations that were installed over the summer in the Undergraduate, Lockwood and Science and Engineering libraries. The University Libraries' Sun stations also are equipped to access the full contents of the archive.

HOW do you search something in the database? It's very easy to do a search. Just enter your search criteria in the WHAT, WHEN and/or WHERE fields on the search page. Additionally, a handy user's guide is provided online to get you started, explaining how to search for photos with two or more people, specific dates or time periods, or specific cities, states or countries. Once you have entered your search criteria, you then will get a variety of "thumbnail" photos to choose from. There are a variety of screen displays, including four, 12 or 36 photos, with or without captions. For a full-screen display, just click on the photo. The "advanced searching" allows you to search by photographer's name, photo type, concept, hue or selected categories, such as industry, economy, crime, travel or nature.

WHY use this resource? The AP Photo Archive is the largest collection of news photos available online. It is an easy-to-use, comprehensive research tool that allows students and researchers to see for themselves virtually all the major news events photographed from the 1840s to the present. Photos of major events from around the world are available within minutes of being placed on the AP Photo Wire. It is also a useful curriculum tool containing multidisciplinary information. To purchase photos for personal or office use, please contact AP/Wide World Photos at 212-621-1930 or via email wideworld@ap.org.

For assistance in connecting to the World Wide Web, contact the CIT Help Desk at 645-3542.

-Sue Neumeister and Lori Widzinski, University Libraries