Sometimes, Image Is Everything

Do you sometimes need images to further your understanding? Now, more than ever, a number of image-searching options are available in online databases and on the Internet.

From the BISON Online Resources page, you can connect to the AP Photo Archive http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/ugl/e-resources/photo.html. The archive is searchable by date, subject and location. For example, if you wish to find images of the Sydney Opera House (with its unusual roof sails) in proximity to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, simply type "sydney opera house" and "bridge." You will retrieve at least three images of these distinctive structures that grace the harbor in Sydney, Australia.

Some Internet search engines have special methods of image browsing. For example, you could consult hundreds of categories on the Yahoo! Image Surfer http://isurf.yahoo.com for images ranging from fuel-efficient cars to asteroids. AltaVista also offers image searching http://image.altavista.com. Try the following search: +inca +ruins. Note that by clicking on "Advanced Options," you may limit searches by such criteria as color or black-and-white, or by photographs or graphics, or by excluding banner and button images. Lycos http://lycospro.lycos.com/ offers a simple and effective approach. Conduct this search: globe theatre and click on the "Pictures" selection beneath the search box.

Another image-searching site, Ditto.com http://ditto.com also includes both basic and advanced selection options. Advanced options will help you determine the dimensions, depth of color, file type and file size of the images you seek. Scour.net http://www.scour.net, which also searches for audio and video, and related software, can retrieve image files (click on "images"). This site is geared toward popular culture. For art and art history images, try ARTHUR http://www.isi.edu/cct/arthur/.

As copyright and other restrictions may apply to the reuse of downloaded images, it is important to read disclaimers and related policy statements of each site you visit. Happy viewing!

For assistance connecting to the World Wide Web via UB computer accounts, contact the Computing Center Help Desk at 645-3542.

-Deborah Husted Koshinsky and Richard McRae, University Libraries