Re: Indexing of multimedia elements

Kari Kraus (mailto:KKraus27@AOL.COM)
Wed, 9 Jun 1999 07:01:54 EDT

Message-Id: <199906092057.NAA35036@dns.ccit.arizona.edu>
Date:         Wed, 9 Jun 1999 07:01:54 EDT
From: Kari Kraus <mailto:KKraus27@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Indexing of multimedia elements
To: mailto:IMAGELIB@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU

The most formidable image indexing system out there is IconClass
(<http://iconclass.let.ruu.nl/home.html>), whose comprehensiveness is truly
astounding.  If you want the images in your database to be searchable by
minutiae (e.g., a figure facing left with palm up, head bent down, and blood
gushing from its leg--that sort of thing), you should definitely investigate
Iconclass.  If your objective is to make images searchable by media, artist,
and general content, have a look at both the Art and Architecture Thesaurus
and the Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphic Materials.  The URL for the
latter is <http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/print/tgm1>.  I don't have the address for
the AAT handy, but I believe you can find a link to it from the HyperIconics
home page, itself a valuable resource for image indexing:
<http://132.229.191.98:1080/hypereind/>.

At the Blake Archive, the editors have developed their own controlled vocabulary to index Blake's pictorial canon: <http://www.iath.virginia.edu/blake/>; you might find this approach of interest.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Kari Kraus Project Assistant: The William Blake Archive mailto:kkraus27@aol.com mailto:kkru@uhura.cc.rochester.edu

In a message dated 6/4/99 1:24:51 AM Eastern Daylight Time, mailto:lck4@NP.EDU.SG writes:

> I'm looking into indexing of multimedia elements such as clip arts,
> graphics, photos, slides, soundclip, etc. for a multimedia repository. I
> wonder if any libraries or organisations have done something similar, and
> if so,
> - which thesaurus do you use for indexing the elements,
> - would you recommend it for my needs
> - any problems you find with using the tool.
>
> Would appreciate your enlightenment in this respect.
>
> Thank you and regards,
> Caroline
> mailto:lck4@np.edu.sg
>