New Digital Collection For Faculty Contains Over 53,000 High-Quality Images

Looking for images of the ruins of Chichn Itz? Post-modern architecture in Berlin? The Gardens at the Palace of Versailles?

The DePaul University Library is pleased to present a new digital-image collection for faculty use. Over the summer quarter, the Department of Digitization Services subscribed to Archivision Digital Research Library, which is now available through the LUNA database. The Archivision Library contains over 53,000 high-quality images of architecture, gardens, public art and archeological sites.

The collection spans the globe and all time periods, and includes images from Ancient Greece, Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, pre-modern Europe and Asia. There is also a large collection of modern and post-modern architecture. Additionally, there are images of gardens and public sculpture throughout the world.

The photography was done by Scott Gilchrist, a professional photographer and architect by training. The photographs are high-quality, accurate representations of sites. The collection is catalogued using rich, easily searchable metadata that includes basic identification fields, as well as more in-depth descriptive information. The images are at least 1,500 pixels in size, suitable for PowerPoint presentations, and can be downloaded as easily as images in the LUNA database. Additionally, higher resolution, royalty-free versions of the same images are available for publication for a fee.

Professor of History of Art and Architecture Paul Jascot says of the collection, “I liked the shots of the Reichstag in particular, and could see using those easily in a publication. In addition, some of the general city views establishing a ‘built context’ as it were looked quite helpful and potentially useful. That they are offering them at a relatively low price is certainly a bonus. The Chicago images will also be of special interest to many DePaul faculty. High quality images overall.”

Tamsen Anderson, who teaches modern architecture at DePaul, also reflected on how the Archivision Research Library is useful for teaching and research. “I searched for the buildings that I cover in HAA 281 (Modern Architecture), which includes the period from the mid-18th century to the late 20th century. What I found is that Archivision offers excellent exterior details of buildings — I particularly liked the images for Chiswick House, the Bibliotheque Ste.-Genevieve and the Paris Opera — as well as some useful contextual images that showcase the areas around the buildings (for example, the Place du Pantheon and the Place de l’Opera). Archivision also offered some relatively rare views of the working parts of Monticello, which will help me better illustrate the relation between the highly visible part of Monticello (for elite whites) and the less visible, but extremely important, recessed wings, where food preparation and other important domestic activities were carried out by Jefferson’s slaves.”

To access the collection, log into LUNA, go to the Collections drop-down menu, and select Archivision Base to Module 6. Once in the Archivision library, images can be searched, selected and downloaded in the same manner as those in the LUNA collection.

The Department of Digitization Services offers individual consultation and training as well as departmental sessions.  If you are interested, please contact Michael Donovan, Image Collection Supervisor, for scheduling options.