Categories
American Images on the Web Innovative Technology

Biblion: Free iPad Application from NYPL

The New York Public Library has released the first in a series of free iPad applications which will highlight various aspects of the library’s collections and services. The series is called Biblion: The Boundless Library and the first app showcases the library’s 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair holdings. As the Apple iTunes description of Biblion: World’s Fair states:

In this free app you will hold documents, images, films, audio, and essays directly from the collections right in your hands.

Via INFOdocket.

Categories
Images on the Web Museums

Cultural Collections at Yale Now Available for Free Online

A new open access policy at Yale has made it possible for the University to release more than 250,000 digital images online, freely available to the public through their collective catalog. For public domain material, no license will be required and no restrictions will be placed upon use of the images.

The result is that scholars, artists, students, and citizens the world over will be able to use these collections for study, publication, teaching and inspiration.

Via Yale Office of Public Affairs and Communications.

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News

Robot-Powered Library

Wired features the UofC’s Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, which opens next week:

“If Google Books was a physical place instead of a web service, it would probably look a lot like the University of Chicago’s new library.”

Read more…

Categories
East Asian Moving Images

China’s Terracotta Warriors on PBS

This week PBS aired a new episode of their television program Secrets of the Dead in which producer Steve Talley explores the life-sized terracotta warriors of China:

This clay army of 8,000 including infantry, archers, generals and cavalry was discovered by archaeologists in 1974 after farmers digging a well near the Chinese city of Xian unearthed pieces of clay sculpted in human form.

An amazing archaeological find, the terracotta warriors date back more than two thousand years. But what was the purpose of this army of clay soldiers? Who ordered its construction? How were they created? Secrets of the Dead investigates the story behind China’s Terracotta Warriors and documents their return to former glory for the first time.

The episode is now available online.

Categories
Images on the Web Museums

Art Stolen by Nazis Archived Online

The International Research Portal is a collaboration of national and other archival institutions with records that pertain to Nazi-Era cultural property. These archival institutions, along with expert national and international organizations, are working together to extend public access to the widely-dispersed records through a single internet portal. The portal will allow families to research their losses, provenance researchers to locate important documentation, and historians to study newly accessible materials on the history of this period.

Via Guardian.

Categories
Ancient Images on the Web Museums

Visual Documentation of the Ara Pacis Augustae

Reed College has made available online a comprehensive guide to the Ara Pacis Augustae.

The Ara Pacis Augustae is a complex masterpiece, with elaborate reliefs including more than a hundred figures and voluminous vegetation filled with the details of nature. It is also a much damaged and reconstructed monument, making it important to distinguish original from later portions and more recent changes. This web site attempts to provide in-depth visual documentation in support of the in-depth scholarly publications that have so enriched our understanding of Augustan art and society.

Information on the website includes models, diagrams and photographs of the Augustan altar, maps and aerial views of the original site, published images, and photographs of the contemporary museum location.

Categories
Images on the Web Innovative Technology Modern - Contemporary Moving Images

Using GIS to Turn Movement into Art

Many of us have heard recent revelations about the kinds of geographic information stored on our mobile devices, including iPhones and iPads. On the lighter side of location tracking, some artists are using this kind of data to create art based on people’s movements and interactions. One such example is Maria Scileppi’s Living Brushstroke project. Her video Anthem includes visualizations from events like Burning Man and the 2010 Chicago Marathon. According to the project’s blog, a Living Brushstroke iPhone app will be available soon.

Via O’Reilly Radar.

Categories
Architecture Exhibitions

Geometry and Architecture at the Graham Foundation

The current exhibition at the Graham Foundation, Anne Tyng: Inhabiting Geometry, explores the work of one of the first women to ever receive a fellowship from the Foundation, as well as one of the first women to receive a Masters of Architecture from Harvard University.

This exhibition presents the work of the visionary architect and theorist Anne Tyng. Since the 1950s, when she worked closely with Louis I. Kahn and independently pioneered habitable space-frame architecture, Tyng has applied natural and numeric systems to built forms on all scales, from urban plans to domestic spaces.

The exhibition will be on view in Chicago until June 18, 2011 at the Graham Foundation.

Categories
Powerpoint Presentation Software Tech Support

PowerPoint 2011

Have you upgraded to PowerPoint 2011 on your Mac, or are you thinking about upgrading? Microsoft Office for Mac has released some helpful tutorials, including general PowerPoint basics and more specific guides (like how to design your presentations using themes). A very useful PowerPoint 2008 to PowerPoint 2011 map also shows new locations of commands in the 2011 version.

If you have any questions about PowerPoint or would like to request a training appointment, please contact the VRC.

Categories
Software Tech Support

Celebrate Preservation Week!

Did you know? This week is National Preservation Week. From April 24-30, the Library of Congress and libraries around the nation will provide guidance in preserving digital images and other files.

Thursday, April 28th the Library of Congress is hosting a free webinar at 1pm Central Time titled Preserving Your Personal Digital Memories. Registration is required, and the form is available here.

Digital photos, electronic documents, and other new media are fragile and require special care to keep them useable. But preserving digital information is a new concept that most people have little experience with. As new technologies appear for creating and saving our personal digital information, older ones become obsolete, making it difficult to access older content. Learn about the nature of the problem and hear about some simple, practical tips and tools to help you keep your digital memories safe.

As always, if you have any questions about managing your digital images, please contact the VRC.