This document discusses visual literacy and finding, using, and attributing images appropriately. It defines visual literacy as the ability to interpret and evaluate visual images, and includes being able to find images from proprietary databases like ARTstor or open web sources like Flickr, use them for academic work, and provide proper attribution. The document provides examples of image sources and editing tools, and explains what should be included when attributing or citing images, such as the creator, title, date, materials, holding institution, retrieval date, and license for open web images. It stresses the importance of checking licenses, especially for open web images, to ensure authorized use.

1. Visual Literacy
Finding, Using, and Attributing Images
Kristin Henrich, Librarian for Art & Architecture
Dali, Salvador. The Little Theater. 1934. Sculpture: Wood and Glass, Painted. Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved Nov. 17 2011 from ARTstor: Acccession Number 57.1981.

2. What is Visual Literacy?
“Visual literacy is the ability to decode,
interpret, create, question, challenge and
evaluate texts that communicate with visual
images as well as, or rather than, words” 1
This includes being able to find, use, and
attribute images appropriately and ethically. 2
1 From UC Irvine: http://libguides.lib.uci.edu/visual_literacy
2 From the Association of College & Research Library’s Image Resource Interest Group Visual Literacy Standards: http://acrlvislitstandards.wordpress.com/

3. Finding Images
Proprietary Databases
• Curated by professionals; images with
provenance and credibility. Organized using
metadata supplied by experts. Existing
guidelines for incorporation into scholarly
work.

4. Examples
• ARTstor
• CAMIO
• EBSCO Images
• Europeana
De Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri. Moulin Rouge: La Goulue. (1891) Lithograph. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved Nov. 17 2011 from ARTstor: ID 223.

5. Images on the Open Web
Open Source Image Banks
• Images with varying levels of reliability,
provenance, and authenticity; organized by
user-supplied tags. Minimal guidelines for
attribution.

6. Examples
• Digital/Institutional Repositories
– University of Idaho Library Digital Initiatives
– American Memory (LOC)
– Center for Creative Photography
• Flickr CC
• Public Domain LibGuide from UCI
• ALA Guide to Images by Discipline

7. Image Editing Resources
• GIMP
• Pixlr
• Photoshop
• Photo resizing
• UI Web Authoring Tutorials:
http://webauthoring.uidaho.edu/2011/04/20/
easy-photo-editing/

8. Attributing vs. Citing Images
Both attributing and citing provide
information about an image to help viewers
find the original source. Use attribution when
no citation style is required, and cite in MLA,
APA, or Chicago style.

9. What needs to be included?
•Creator of the work
•Title of the work
•Year when it was composed/completed
•Materials involved in completing the work
•Institution that houses the work
•Date the work was retrieved
•Website from which the work was retrieved
•Open web: license

10. Attribution from Proprietary Sources
• ARTstor Permitted & Prohibited Uses
• ARTstor’s Images for Academic Publishing
– Limit search by “IAP” to find images cleared for
scholarly publication
• CAMIO
– Varies by holding institution. Check “Rights” link
for reproduction policies
• Europeana Terms of Use

11. Watkins, Carleton E. Multnomah Falls Cascades,
Columbia River. 1867. Photograph. Sterling and
Francine Clark Art Institute: Dept. of Prints,
Drawings and Photographs. Williamstown, Mass.
Retrieved Nov. 10, 2011 from CAMIO:1998.42.5.

12. Attribution from the Open Web
• Same info as for proprietary—creator, title,
date created, materials, institution (if
applicable), date retrieved, and web address
• Include the Creative Commons status of the
image, and a link to the creator’s CC license
page if available.
• Cite the original image—use TinEye for help

13. Creative Commons License?
• It is your responsibility to check the license on
every image found on the open web to ensure
that you are within copyright to reproduce it.
• Creative Commons Licenses
• Flickr Creative Commons Licenses

14. Steve-h. The Way Through the Woods. 2011. Photograph.
Retrieved Nov. 17 2011 from Flickr: Attribution-ShareAlike
Creative Commons License.

15. How Can I Protect My Work?
• Artist’s Rights Society
• Creative Commons
• Intellectual Property and the Arts
• UC Irvine’s Image Copyright Guide

16. Kristin Henrich
Librarian for Art & Architecture
208.885.6514 | khenrich@uidaho.edu
http://libguides.uidaho.edu/art