Workshop Working with IIIF images in education, communication and research

• Topic: The benefits of digital Images in IIIF format for education, research, and public engagement.
• Focus: Medieval manuscripts, but also applicable to other types of objects.
• Methodology: Brief explanation + inspiring examples + assignments for participants.
• Intended audience: No IT knowledge required. Suitable for anyone working with digital images of books, paintings, prints, coins, etc. Previous participants include staff and students at: KU Leuven, Ghent University, European Lettering Institute, Columbia University, Flemish Heritage Libraries, National Library of Slovenia, York University, University College Cork, IIIF Consortium, Musea Brugge, the Flemish Institute for Archives, Ghent University Library and the Library of Congress.
• Practical information: 120 minutes, in-person or online.
• Interested? Contact us to schedule a workshop at your institution or explore the workshop at your own pace below. We particularly welcome 'train-the-trainer' sessions.

1. Smaller carbon footprint: IIIF eliminates unnecessary duplication of images and supports minimal computing. As a result, we need less energy for servers and data transfer.
2. Easy and enhanced viewing options across institutions: Thanks to IIIF, digital images are no longer confined to local systems. Say goodbye to switching between different websites and user interfaces! You can seamlessly bring together images from various institutions in a uniform working environment.
3. Dynamic images with rich context: When you use a IIIF image in editorial content (e.g. blog or virtual exhibition), your reader has the option to zoom out to see the larger picture and has access to additional information in the metadata descriptions.
4. Open source tools for working with images in education, communication, research, and even gaming.
5. Community: IIIF is developed by an enthusiastic community of cultural heritage specialists and IT developers. The results are always open source, allowing everyone to contribute to innovation.

Visit the IIIF Consortium website for more information on the benefits of IIIF.

A manifest URL contains the words IIIF and manifest(s). For instance:

• https: // iiif.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/iiif/manifest/441db95d-cdff-472e-bb2d-b46f043db82d.json
  
• https://apicollections.parismusees.paris.fr/iiif/160040797/manifest

IIIF is used by a growing number of institutions, but is not yet used everywhere, so the object of your choice might not yet have a manifest URL.

P.s. Bookmark this page. We'll often refer to external websites over the course of this workshop.

Specific institutions: Look for the words 'IIIF manifest URL' or the IIIF logo in the metadata (descriptions) of an item in the institution's online catalogue. Some examples, all starting from an item's individual record (catalogue description):

• Ghent University Library > go to ‘For developers’
  
• KU Leuven > go to ‘View online’ > open the manuscript in Teneo > go to ‘information’ (‘Permalink IIIF manifest’)
• Gallica BnF > click on the IIIF logo in the left sidebar > click on the information 'i' logo in the right upper corner to open the metadata for the object > the manifest is at the bottom of the metadata
• Cambridge University Digital Library Many options, among others the obvious 'Manifest URL' button.
• Getty Museum > Filter on 'open content images' > search for object > manifest is at the bottom of the record, under 'APIs & other identifiers'
• Musea Brugge > manifest is at the bottom of the record, under 'Linked Open Data'
• Library of Congress > 'manifest' is listed at the bottom of the record > open the manifest > copy the URL
• For an extensive (but not exhaustive) list, visit the Guides to finding IIIF resources on the IIIF.io website.

Expert trick! Use the DetektIIIF browser extension to retrieve manifests (more info here).

Global platforms with IIIF resources (not exhaustive):

• Biblissima IIIF Collections: This website tries to gather all of the available manifests of manuscripts and rare books in the world (but is not exhaustive yet). Some 100.000 IIIF compliant manuscripts and rare books! Includes giant collections like Gallica (BnF) and e-codices.
• Fragmentarium: Circa 5400 IIIF compliant medieval manuscript fragments.
  
• Internet Archive: Millions of texts, images, audio and video available in IIIF. The manifests URLs are not published but can be reconstructed quite easily by inserting an item's identifier into a URL structure (see this 3-step guide).
  
• FranceArchives: National aggregator for French archives. IIIF already implemented for these collections, and growing.
• Wikidata: Contains manifest URLs for thousands of objects (but not consistently). You can search directly in Wikidata, or search for the item you are interested in on Wikipedia > click on 'wikidata item' > the manifest URL is listed under 'statements' (e.g. The Kiss by Gustave Klimt).

Mmmonk: Go to the page of a manuscript (e.g. this breviary) > the link is right below the viewer.

• Select and copy the URL. This is the key you need to work with this object.
• Sometimes it will also be possible to drag and drop the IIIF logo next to the URL.
• If you click on the URL, the manifest will open in your web browser. You will see a page filled with json code. Don't panic! You don't need the code, only the URL.

Shortcut for this workshop

For the purpose of this workshop you can save time by using manifests from our hand-picked list of interesting items.

Find the Manifest URL for one of the items below. Share the URL in the meeting chat or show it to the workshop leader.

• Musea Brugge: Jheronimus Bosch, Last Judgment, ca. 1500 (inv. 0000.GRO0208.I)
• Victoria & Albert Museum: Unknown artist, The Dacre Beasts - The Red Bull, ca. 1507-1525 (inv. W.6:1 to 5-2000)
• Gallica (Bibliothèque nationale de France): La New Home [machine à coudre] : médaille d'or, Paris 1889 : [affiche]

How to

1. Select and copy the manifest URL of the object of your choice, for instance https://sharedcanvas.be/IIIF/m....
2. Open the website https://universalviewer.io/
3. Copy the URL to ‘Paste the URL of a IIIF manifest here to see the UV in action!’
4. Browse the manuscript and zoom in on an interesting detail. (Watch how the coordinates in the URL change as you zoom or move. The coordinates make it possible to share a specific area of an image.)
5. Copy the URL with the coordinates or use the share button in the viewer. Share the URL in a message, copy it to a document, or bookmark the page.

Assignment 1 (manuscript)

Find the coat of arms of Abbot Jan Crabbe in Ms. 157/188 from Bruges Grootseminarie. Zoom in on this detail and share it with another participant (via chat or mail) or save it in your browser.

manifest URL https://sharedcanvas.be/IIIF/m...

Assignment 2 (painting)

Find the parakeet on the painting Madonna with Canon Joris Van der Paele by Jan van Eyck (Groeningemuseum Bruges). Zoom in on this detail and share it with another participant (via chat or mail) or save it in your browser.

manifest URL painting: https://dam.museabrugge.be/iii...

How to

1. Select and copy the manifest URL of your object.
2. Open the website https://projectmirador.org/. (Close the examples by Van Gogh and of Krishna.)
3. Click ‘start here’.
4. Click ‘add resource’.
5. Add the manifest URL and click ‘add’. Your object is now the first in the list of resources.
6. Click on your object to add it to your collage.
7. Repeat these steps as often as you wish to add objects to your collage.
8. Save your collage by clicking on the three dots in the menu on the right. Hit 'export workspace' > ‘view workspace configuration’, select the body of text and save it to a document or notepad for later use. Open a collage by importing the saved text into ‘import workspace’.

Assignment 1 - Compare two manuscripts

Compare two manuscript copies of De natura rerum by Thomas of Cantimpré. Open both books on the folio with a miniature of a cyclops.

• Brugge, Openbare Bibliotheek, Manuscript 411: https://sharedcanvas.be/IIIF/manifests/B_OB_MS411
• Gent, Sint-Baafskapittel, Manuscript 15: https://adore.ugent.be/IIIF/manifests/archive.ugent.be%3AB6F50BB0-7602-11EB-81AA-AFF9AA36FAF6

Assignment 2 - Create your own collage

Find images of a specific iconographical topic using the Biblissima Portal. Make a collage in Mirador with at least three images.

Tip: Take into account that the website's descriptions are written in French and/or English. Searching for terms like Apocalypse, dragon, Jerusalem… yields the best results for this assignment.

Assignment 3 - Add items to an existing collage

We have prepared collages on Behemoth, Boethius, Juvenal and cyclopes for you to play with.

• Go to this page,
• select a collage,
• import the code into a Mirador workspace,
• and start adding items to the collage.

Examples

• Cheeky and pious scribes
• The Art of Reading in the Middle Ages Quiz!
• Introduction to gothic capitals in bindings (tour with videos)
• Aristotle
• Selection of Mmmonk manuscripts for workshops

How to

1. Go to https://mmmonk.vercel.app/ > ‘Create an Exhibit’
2. Choose the format (Kiosk plays automatically, Scroll lets visitors scroll through the tour, Slide is a slideshow, Quiz presents multiple choice questions)
3. Fill in the required fields and ‘create exhibit’. You can always come back to this menu to make changes.
4. Bookmark the URL or save it in a document. Exhibit does not use accounts and log-ins. The URL is the only way to return to your work.
5. Click ‘add item’.
6. Paste a manifest URL in the bar at the bottom and click 'import'.
7. Select this resource in the list of resources and hit 'add to exhibit'.
8. Browse through the manuscript to the page of your choice and zoom in on the detail of your choice.
9. Hit the '+' bar ('add new'). This opens the annotation module. Write your annotation. You can still modify the image at this point.
10. Hit the 'check' button below the annotation to save the annotation and the image. Would you like to show another page in the same manuscript? Then browse through the manuscript to the detail of your choice, click on '+', and create a new step in your tour.
11. Add as many items/resources as you wish. This can also be a YouTube video.
12. Go to 'preview' to preview your tour. Hit 'share' to share or embed your tour.

Troubleshooting

Error report when you import a manifest? Is it possible you've already added this manuscript and that it is already in your list of resources? If not, check the URL for errors.

Assignment

Select a few manifest URLs from our list and create a tour or quiz. (Bookmark the URL of your workspace!)

Alternatives

Currently, Exhibit and Storiiies are the most popular free IIIF storytelling tools. What are the main differences?

• Exhibit accommodates book materials (i.e. manifests with multiple images = pages or folios) and allows you to integrate YouTube videos into the guided viewing.
• Storiiies is very popular in museums. It allows you to work with one single image. Access the free editor tool here. Some neat examples here, including a guided viewing of Hans Holbein's The Ambassadors.
• Annonatate has the advantage that you can save your work to a Github repository. But this means you need some familiarity with data management to work with Annonatate.
• A bit more advanced: create digital archives and exhibitions with Padlet, Google Sites, CollectionBuilder or Wax. See the Minimal Digital tutorials by Alison Harvey (AHRC-RLUK).
• List of other tools on the IIIF Consortium's website.

Benefits

Enjoy the functionalities of a viewer (vs. a static, flat image): show a detail but keep the option to zoom out + direct access to metadata descriptions + high resolution + quick + no need to download/save/crop/upload/host images (and pay for server capacity and hosting).

Examples

• Paleography course Vatican Library (Ambrogiano Piazzoni)
• Digital Manuscripts in the Classroom Universiteitsbibliotheken Leiden
• Mmmonk.be, of course...

How to

1. Retrieve the iframes or div embed code via Universal Viewer (> ‘share’). This functionality is sometimes also available in customized viewers on institutional websites.
2. Embed the iframes code as an alternative for an uploaded jpg in the CMS of your website. Ask your supplier to provide this option when you design a website.

When you use the iframes code, you (the editor of the webpage) will be able to zoom in on a specific detail (via URL coordinates). This is not an option with div code.

Our Mmmonk workshop focuses on the use and reuse of IIIF images. Do you want to continue learning about IIIF? Here are some options:

On the Awesome IIIF Github page you'll find helpful links around each of the standards, demonstrations of their use, and tutorials and presentations. The list is especially helpful for orienting new community members and developers.

The 5-day online course by the IIIF Community. The workshop is split into 5 different areas which are covered over the course of 5 days:

• Day 1 - IIIF Basics
• Day 2 - Image API Understand what the Image API provides; Be able to change a Image API URL to get access to different parts of an image; Understand the different types of Image API implementations (level0, level1 etc); Know the tools that work with the Image API so you can test your Image API server
• Day 3 - Presentation API Create, edit and publish a manifest
• Day 4 - Annotations Create, edit and publish annotations
• Day 5 - Project demos

Still hungry for more? You can find advanced training materials at https://training.iiif.io and at https://iiif.io/get-started.

There is also training available in other languages at https://iiif.io/get-started/non-english/.

• Ask help from the community on Slack! There are dedicated channels for beginners, AV, libraries, museums, IIIF in the classroom...
• The IIIF Flanders & Netherlands Network Group (Collegagroep IIIF Vlaanderen en Nederland) provides opportunities to share knowledge and expertise about IIIF among IIIF builders and IIIF educators active in Flanders and the Netherlands. The collective organizes events (e.g. IIIF Friday webinars) and provides tutorials and trainings. We also have our own channel on IIIF Slack, so feel free to join us!

• Transcribe: FromThePage and Transkribus, two useful tools to digitally transcribe manuscripts, support IIIF.
• Annotate: Annonatate is a tool to annotate images. You need to log in to Github to use this tool. Read this step by step tutorial.
• Create a website: Canopy IIIF is a tool to create simple websites with browsable and searchable IIIF collections. You need to log in to Github to use this tool. Read this step by step tutorial. Other useful tools and tutorials for collection building can be found on Minimal Digital's webpage.

• As of 2023, anyone can create IIIF-compatible images, for free, without access to an image server, by uploading to the Internet Archive. Upload an image, find the image's identifier (e.g., https://archive.org/details/img-8664_202009), then insert the identifier into this string: https://iiif.archive.org/iiif/...insertyouridentifierhere/manifest.json. Read a step by step tutorial on the Minimal Digital's webpage or on the IIIF Consortium's training page. P.s. If you do this just as a test, mark your image as a test in the uploader so it can be deleted after 30 days.
• Next level: If you already have a IIIF image, you can create a manifest via Digirati's IIIF Manifest Editor.

Drag and drop items into Chronoscope World

Chronoscope World is a viewer initially designed for enhanced exploring of maps. But the viewer can also be used to open any type of IIIF compliant object, e.g. books. The advantage of Chronoscope World as a viewer is that you can drag and drop the IIIF logo or a thumbnail from an online catalogue into the Chronoscope workspace to quickly open the whole book. This makes it a good tool to quickly sift through hundreds of images when you don't really know what you are looking for.

Use sparql queries in Wikidata to find IIIF manifest URLs

Wikidata has over 200.000 manifest URLs. Use the Query Service or the Query Builder to generate compounded searches for IIIF items (property 'IIIF Manifest URL', P6108), for instance: show me all the oil paintings made in the Low Countries between 1400 and 1500 and that have a manifest URL. Find a short guide here.

"In 2020, EY suggested that digitalization already accounted for 4 percent of global GHG emissions – nearly twice the human carbon dioxide emissions generated by the aviation industry."

"Many organizations do not consider their data carbon footprint and are unknowingly burdened with wasteful digital practices like data duplication, leading to a rise in carbon dioxide production."

(Source: Decoding the digital carbon footprint: exposing the global data challenge, 2020 The Chronicle of Higher Education)

Looking for more ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your work with digital heritage collections? The webinar 'How to create more climate-friendly communications' by Europeana Pro contains useful tips.