The Visual Resources Collection
The Carleton Visual Resources Collection provides resources for the study of Art and Art History including a digital image collection, a 35mm slide collection, and scanning and image collection services. The Visual Resources digital image collection is an on-campus resource of over 30,000 images used in Art History courses as well as in other courses across the campus. ARTstor, a repository of almost a million art images is also available. Users can access other licensed and local images through the library’s database page and Digital Collections webpage. The Carleton Visual Resources Collection also houses more than 140,000 slides of works of all sorts from the history of Western and Asian art and architecture, plus rich holdings in African, Meso-American, Pacific Islands, and folk art, as well as photography, film and design.
The Visual Resources Collection is staffed by a full-time curator and several student assistants. Students spend about five to ten hours per week during the school year gaining exposure to works of art by scanning images for the digital collection and filing and preparing slides for circulation. The student staff works closely with faculty preparing curricular materials and doing research and related projects.
Faculty use
Image reference services and instruction on using and making digital images are available by appointment with the slide curator. Digital image and slide use should be limited to educational purposes only and follow fair use guidelines. Faculty members from outside the Art and Art History department are welcome to use the slide collection. The visual resources library is located in Boliou Hall 146 and is open Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm. On your first visit, please ask the curator or student staff to assist you in learning circulation practices. Faculty borrowers should return slides as soon as possible after using them.
Student Use
The digital image collection and ARTstor as well as other licensed images sources on the library’s database and Digital Collections page are digital images available for student use. Slide and digital image use should be limited to educational purposes only and follow fair use guidelines. Art History Comps students should consult the Slides and Digital Images for Art History Comps page and meet with the curator before making slides. Art Studio majors learn to take slides of their work in the Junior seminar. The copy photography stand is available during business hours. Please consult the curator for access. Students may borrow slides or use digital images for course presentations. The visual resources library is located in Boliou Hall 146 and is open Monday-Friday 8-5. On your first visit, please ask the curator or student staff to assist you in learning circulation practices.
Image presentations
OIV (ARTstor Offline Image Viewer) or PowerPoint presentations
- Students or faculty can request an individual training session on how to create image presentations using ARTstor’s Offline Image Viewer or PowerPoint. Email heyeston@carleton.edu
· Slides can be scanned using the Slide Library's slide scanner. Ask the curator or student staff for instructions.
· Check the database catalogue, ARTstor, the library's databases for images. A Google image search may also produce digital images for your PowerPoint presentation.
· Digital images can be made using a flatbed scanner in the slide library or CMC. See instructions for creating digital images with a flatbed scanner.
Slide presentations
· Browse the slide collection and introduce yourself to the staff and get a circulation orientation after which you may check out slides. If you need to create new images from library books and other sources for making into slides, try to find the highest quality image and avoid images which fall across the spine of the book. Stop by the curator's office to present the images from which you want slides. Slides sometimes take 5-7 days to shoot and process. Last minute additions can often not be accommodated.
