Visual Resources Collection Overview
Welcome to the Visual Resources Collection. The collection consists of a variety of media ranging from digital images to lantern slides to mounted photographs. Areas include applied and decorative arts, archaeological sites and artifacts, architecture and the built environment, ethnographic art and artifacts, graphic arts (including commercial art and illustration), photography, painting and sculpture, from prehistory to the present day, and from around the world. (Mention faculty involvement in its development?)
The Slide and Photograph Collection
This collection is over sixty years old and is comprised of approximately 320,000 slides (both lantern and 35mm) and 187,000 mounted photographs. Many of these have been digitized and are available through the sources listed above [link here?], but some are only available at the VRC. These collections are available for classroom use and browsing at the VRC, Street Hall, 59 High Street. [Link to hours/location.] We would be happy to help you find what you need.
(Better content for the "about us" page) In 2008 the VRC will be moving to a new location in the renovated Paul Rudolph building. We are taking this opportunity to transition entirely to digital media, and our slide and
photograph collection will be archived and moved to the Long-Term Shelving Facility.
Although not instantly accessible, all of our material can be recalled for use with a few
days notice. Finding aids are available at [link].
The Visual Resources Collection Digital Library
The VRC Digital Library contains over 60,000 images with more added daily. Its principal focus is the visual arts and allied fields and is available through several platforms, each with its own strengths (where do we delineate these strengths???) The collection is restricted to the Yale network and remotely via proxy server or VPN. To access the collection remotely, click here.
Access the VRC images...
- via the web-based VRC Digital Library platform
- via the Digital Library Cross Collection Search interface (why is this useful????)
- via Insight Client: Insight is currently available as a client-only. Insight gives you access to the Visual Resource Collection as well as many other collections. You will need to download Insight to your computer or, if you are at a library public workstation, you will need to launch the application form the Start menu. Instructions and downloads are available here. For more information on using Insight, click here.
- via ARTstor: The Visual Resources Collection can also be viewed through ARTstor, along with an impressive array of other collections. As with the VRC Digital Collection, ARTstor is restricted to the Yale network.
Luna Imaging Inc.'s Insight is client-based software used to manage, access, and present digital images. In addition to the VRC's Digital Collection, you may access and cross-search several other collections through the Insight Client. To date, there are 51 collections ranging from rare map collections and art museum collections to goelogical survey photographs and gravestone renderings. For a complete overview of the indivdual collections, click here.
The Insight client software, which you install, allows you to perform searches, create and save groups, export images, cross-search multiple collections, create a presentation, and export a presentation directly into Powerpoint or HTML. The client version is available on ITS Cluster machines and many Yale public workstations. To download the Insight client to your personal computer, follow these instructions. For specific instructions on using the client, click here. There are public and private folders for saving groups and presentations in Insight. All faculty using Insight have been given a folder for image groups that will be used for classes. Students who wish to prepare a class presentation using Insight should consult with the ????. In addition to viewing images in Insight, students can make groups and save them to the "Student" folder. For more information on using Insight, click here.
All users need to request an Insight login and password; doing so allows you to create folders and save images or groups of images.