Finding Visual Information: A Study of Image Resources Used by Archaeologists, Architects, Art ...

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Wayne State University
School of Library and Information Science Faculty
School of Library and Information Science
Research Publications
9-1-2011
Finding Visual Information: A Study of Image
Resources Used by Archaeologists, Architects, Art
Historians, and Artists
Joan E. Beaudoin
Wayne State University, [email protected]
Jessica Evans Brady
Florida State University
Recommended Citation
Beaudoin. J.E., Brady, J. (2011). Finding visual information: a study of image resources used by archaeologists, architects, art
historians, and artists.Art Documentation30(2): 24-36
Available at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/slisfrp/104
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Library and Information Science at DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been
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Visual A Resources
Finding Information: Studyo fI mage
Used byA rchaeologistsA, rchitectsA,r tH istorians,a nd
Artists
JoanE . Beaudoina ndJ essicaE vans Brady
Thisa rticlep resentts hef indingosf a recents tudyw hichi dentifietdh ei mager esourcest hatp rofessionaul serg roupsa cknowledged
wereu sefult o theirw orkp rocessesT. he informatiobne haviorsr elatingt o imageso fs everalp rofessionaul serg roups- archaeolo-
gists,a rchitectsa,r th istoriansa,n d artist-s weree xaminedi n a qualitativer esearchs tudyc onductedi n 2008-2009P. resentedh ere
are findingts hatc larifyw heret hesep atronst urnedf ort heirv isual informationne eds and what factorsin fluencedt heiri mage
resourced ecisions.T he finals ectionp rovidess uggestionst o improvet he image-relatedex perienceso f theseu ser groups and
discussesa venuesf orf uturer esearch.
Introduction LiteraturRee view
In thiss tudy,im age resourcesa re defineda s any observ-
able materiawl hichc an be employedb y a professionauls ert o Archaeologists
completea workt ask.T he formato f currentim age resources Studieso f archaeologistsi'n formatiobne haviorsa re rare.
can be print,d igital,o r real,l ived experienceR. esourcesm ay Two recents tudiesb y Isto Huvila publishedi n 2008 and 2009
be held withinp ersonalo r institutioncaol llectionsi,n specialty examinedt heu se ofi nformatiosno urcesb y archaeologistws ith
databases,o r on theo pen web. Accesst o imager esourcesm ay varyingw orkr olesa nd foundt hatv isuali nformatioinn various
be freelyg rantedr, estrictedor, prohibitedw, hilet heu se of the formsw as sought.2T he moste xtensiveu se of visual informa-
imagesc ontainedw ithint heser esourcecsa nb e similarlydi verse. tionw as foundf ora cademica rchaeologistisn volvedi n teaching;
Usersw ho attemptto meett heiri magen eeds to completet heir thesem aterialcso nsistedo fd iagramsv, ideos,p hotographsa,n d
workt askso peratew ithint hisc omplicatedse to fc onditions. theo bjectst hemselves.3
For a numbero f professionauls er groupsi n thea cademic Severalo thera rticlesh ave been publishedw ithint hep ast
and creativde isciplinesv,i suali nformatiopnla ysa centrarl olei n few decades on image-richs ystemsa nd technologiesu seful
thew orkt heyc ompleteW. hilem anys tudiesh avea cknowledged fort he disciplineo f archaeologyT. hese included iscussionso f
thisn eedf orv isuali nformatioanm ongv ariousu serg roupsf, ew the DigitalA rchiveN etworkf orA nthropology(D ANA),4t he
studies address the image resourcesu sed by archaeologists, PerseusD igitalL ibrarya,5n d multispectriaml agingt echniques.6
architectsa,r t historianso,r artistsA. reviewo f the literature GeographicIn formatioSny stem( GIS) technologyh as also seen
revealsv aryingle velso fr esearchr egardintgh ei mageb ehaviors heavya doptiona mongt hea rchaeologicaclo mmunityH.o wever,
oft heseg roupsA. n overviewis presentedb elow,a rrangedf rom no studieso f archaeologistsu' se of theses ystemsw ere found.
thel eastt o them ostf ullyr esearchedg roup.1 Givent hee xistencoe ft heses ystemsa nd theirs trongu se within
Investigationosf theseu ser groupsw hicha re generali n the domain,w hy thereh ave been so few studieso f archaeolo-
naturea re providedw hen theirf indingsp resenti nformation gists'i nformatiobne haviorsis unclear.7
thati mpactst hes electiona nd use ofi mager esourcesA. multi-
Architects
disciplines tudyo f image users acrossa universityca mpus is
discusseda t the end of thiss ectiona s its findingas dd to the Severalp ublicationos n thei nformatiobne haviorso f archi-
understandinogf the broad need fori mages in the academic tectsd iscussedt heiri magen eeds,a lthougho nlya fewo f these
settingT. wo additionaln otablea spectsc oncerningth e litera- have examinedt he image resourcest hatw ere used. In a 1991
turef ounda nd presentedh eres houldb e mentionedF. irst,o f articleJ, oyceC hidlowd iscussedt het ypicatl ypeso fi nformation
the existings tudiesw hich examinedi mage users' behaviors, neededb y architecttso performth eirw ork.I magesa re noteda s
manyw ere foundt o focuss olelyo n image needs and image beingu sed att hes tarto fa rchitecturparl ojectfs ori nspiratioann d
retrievalS. econd, fewerd iscussionsa ddressingt he topic of referencpeu rposes,a s well as in thed esigns tagef orp eripheral
imager esourcesw eref oundi n thel iteratureT.h is situations et artt o complementth e structuraen d createa n overalle nviron-
thef oundationfo rt hec urrenstt udy'se xaminationof t hei mage ment.8C hidlow's findingws ere supporteda nd built upon by
resourceus sed byp rofessionauls erg roups. StephannM akri and Claire Warwicki n theirt horoughs tudy
of thei nformatiobne haviorso f graduatea rchitecturset udents
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publishedi n 2010.9T hese researcherfso undt hatt he students Additionals tudieso f the image resourceso f artistsh ave
used a large numbero f images and videos in the creationo f been conductedi n recenty ears.O ne of thesei s the2 006r eport
theira rchitecturadle signs,a nd that theirp rimarym eans of on a surveyo fn earlyo ne hundreda rtist-participacnotns ducted
discoveryw as Google or Google Images.1F0 urthermorteh, eir by threeM LIS studentsa t theU niversityof Washington.T2h3 e
studyr evealedt he commonb ehaviora mong the studentso f findingfs romt hiss urveyc orroboratme anyo f the previously
developingp ersonalc ollectionos fi magest o assistt hemi n their published studies on the topic, includingt he findingst hat
design processes.1H1 inda Sklar also studieda rchitecturaen d suggesta rtistsu se visual materialsm ore heavilyt han text-
designs tudentsa,n d reportedin 1995t hatt heyl ook fori mages based resourcesa nd thatt heyh ave well developedp ersonal
in a varietyo fr esourcest hati nclude" periodicalsb,o oks,v ideos, collectionst o supportt heirn eeds.24In formatiocno llectedb y
planningr eportsm, aps,d rawingsp, lans,a nd sketches."1S2k lar ToriG regoryt hrougha nothers urveyo f 165 arts tudiof aculty
states that an immensea mount of materialw as used very membersf romu niversitieisn thes outhernan d westernU nited
rapidlyb y thes tudentsa,n d theyw ereo ftens eenw orkingw ith Statesp rovidedd etailedr esultcs oncernintgh es pecifirce sources
them aterialsw heret heyf oundt hem- copyingd, isassembling, thata rtistse mployt o findi mages.2T5 his 2007 studyr eports
reassemblinga,n d reconstructintgh e images to workt hrough thatG oogle Images,u sed to access otherI nternets ites,w as
designp roblemsa nd stimulatteh eirt hinking.V1a3l erieB radfield the primarym eans of image retrievalw, ith6 7 percento f the
studied architectsu' se of image collectionslo catedw ithina n faculty-respondennotts ingt heiru se ofi t.2V6 ariouso nlinei mage
academic settingi n the UnitedK ingdoma nd founda similar databases were employedb y a smallerg roup of the faculty
patterno f combinings everal images.14B radfielda lso noted (16 percento f ther espondentsA). mongt hese,t hei maged ata-
in thiss tudyp ublishedi n 1976 thatt he architecths ad precise base ARTstorac countedf or1 0 percento f theu se, Wilson'sA rt
imagen eeds,s ucha s overlayinigm ageso ft wob uildingp lanst o MuseumI mageD atabase4 percenta,n d anotherd atabases uch
discernd ifferenciens thed esign.15 as MDID (MadisonD igitalI mage Database) was employedb y
ther emainin2g percent.27
Artists
ArHt istorians
In the literaturpeu blishedi n the last thirtyy earst hath as
examineda rtistsi'n formatiobne haviorst, herea re severalr ecur- Art historianu sers are the most thoroughlyr esearched
rentf indingssu rroundintgh eirs trongin teresitn findingv isual groupt o be includedi n thep resents tudyT. he vastm ajorityof
informationA.l l of the authorsw ho have looked at thisu ser publicationws hichm entionim ageu se amonga rth istorianhsa ve
group have acknowledgedt heirn eed for images. However, commentedo n theirh eavyn eed forv isual materialsB. radfield
existings tudiesh ave typicallyf ocusedo n individualst eaching notest hata rth istorianws ere them ostp revalenta nd heaviest
in a collegeo ru niversitsye ttingr athert hano n practicinagr tists. userso fi magesa mongt hep articipantssh e studiedi n her1 976
Thisl ack of researcha ttentionon then eeds ofp racticingar tists publication.2C8h allenera lso found images to be of primary
was notedb y WilliamH emmigi n his thorough2 008r eviewo f importancteo thea rth istorianssh e studied.2T9h eyv isitedt he
the information-behavliiotre raturoen artists1a6n d in his 2009 departmentasll ide collectionu, sed theiro wn personalc ollec-
studyo f theiri nformation-seekipnrga cticesi,n cludings ources tions,e mployedm useumi mages,h ad slidesm ade throughth e
ofs pecificv isuale lements.17 institutiona'su dio-visuald epartmentu,s ed textbooks ets,a nd
Bradfield's1 976 study of institutionailm age collections made theiro wn slideso rp hotographisn situ.
found that artistsw ere not heavy users of slides. Although ChristopherB ailey and MargaretG rahame xaminedt he
Bradfieldr ecordedt hat theyw ould incorporateim ages into availabilityo f digitizedi magesa nd how thism ay have influ-
their lectureso ccasionallya, rtistsg enerallyu sed images in encedt hed isciplinoe fa rth istoryT.h ef indingosf t hisp reliminary
eitherp lannedo r informalle cturest o illustratae simplep oint reportp, resentedat a 2000c onference,s3u0g gestedt hatw orking
or technique.1F8o rt hesen eeds,b ook illustrationwse ref oundt o methodsa ppear to have been affectedo nly slightlyD. igital
be as adequate an imagef ormatas slides.T hese findingws ere images,a longw itha ll materiafl oundo n thew eb,w eres een to
reiteratedin the 1996 articleb y Susie Cobbledickw, ho found falls horto ft her eliabilitnye ededt o supporta rth istoricailn ves-
thata rtistsp' ersonalc ollectionos fm aterialsa,s well as thoseo f tigationT. he authorsa lso discuss the use of image databases
public and institutionalli brariesw, ere consulted.1J9a cquelyn by art historianasn d suggestt hatt he largerb, roadlyf ocused
Challener's1 999m aster'st hesise xaminedf acultyar tistsa'n d art imaged atabasesd o notr eceivet heu se theys houldb ecause of
historiansin' formatiobne haviorsS. he foundt hata ll oft hea rtists thed iversea pproachese mployedb y arth istoriansB. aileya nd
in her studyu sed a varietyo f imagef ormats.T20h ese included Grahamr evisitedt hed ata gatheredf ort heo riginals tudyi n a
photocopiesr, eproductionfsr omb ooks and magazines,p laster latera rticlep ublishedi n 2006,a nd theys tatet hatt hea rth isto-
casts,c omputerp rintoutsb, ook plates,o riginalw orkso f art, riansn oteds everalp ositivea spectso f digitali mageu se, along
and the classroom'sb lackboardf or sketchesa nd diagrams.21 withs everalb arrierts o use.31A basic lack of knowledgea bout
Hemmig's2 009 studya lso supportst he artistsu' se of a wide imager esourceasm ong5 8 percento ft her espondentws as noted
varietyo fr esourcesH. e foundt hatw hena rtistsso ughti nspira- as beingt heg reatespt roblem.32
tion,t heyd id so throughd irecto bservationosf n aturep, ersonal TrishR ose,i n her2 002e xaminatioonf t heu se oft echnology
experiencesw, orks of art seen in person,n on-artm an-made by art historiansn, oted thatm ost were stillr elianto n print
objectsi,m agesi n analogf orm(b ooks,m agazinesp, hotographs), resourcesf ort heirw ork.3I3n thec ase of images,s he suggested
movingi magerym, usic,t he printedw ord,d igitali mages,a nd thatt heirr eluctancre esultedf romt he overallp oor quality( or
radio,a mongo thers.22 lack) of digitali mages.3H4 er surveyr evealedt hat3 3 percent
believeda lacko fi magea ccessw as theg reatesbta rrietrh eyf aced
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in performingt heirr esearch.3A5 2007 study by Barbara Elam of Participants
tohf et uhsies foofr dmigaitt.a3lS6 ihm ea ginetse arlvsoie ewxeadm siixn eadr atr hti hstisotroiraniasn asb'a oduotp tthioenir A study of professional image users conducted in 2008-
2009 by the firsta uthor of this articlee xamined these questions.
use of online materialsa nd found thatt heye itherd id not use or
were unimpressed by digital images. Elam connected this lack Twenty participantsf romf our professional image user groups
of adoption to two main factors:a lack of comfortw ith using f(aorrc thhaee osltougdiyst. T,a hrcehsei tuescetr,a r gtr hoiustposr wiaenr,ae n sde laercttiesdt )bw aesrede roencr tuhiteeird
technologya nd a lack of awareness of resources. similarlys trongr eliance on images of cultural materialsi n their
AC ross-DiscAippplirnoea ch work. It was believed that selecting user groups employing
similar visual materials in their work would help clarifya ny
A 2004 multi-disciplines tudy conducted by Attig,C opeland differencest hatm ightb e discovered among the groups. Finally,
and Pelikan investigated the importance of visual material to practicalc onsiderationsp layed a role in the selection of the four
users on the campus of Pennsylvania State University (Perm groups- the firsta uthor had easy access to individuals in three
State).37T hese researchersr eportt hat 44 percent of facultya nd of the fourc hosen groups.
student respondents maintained personal collections of digital Beyond the user groups selected for study, the selection
images for teaching and research. The researchersa lso noted criteriaf or the participantsw ere based on the particularc areer
thatt he users were concernedp rimarilyw ith issues surrounding path chosen withint heirr espectivep rofessions.A s each of these
contenta s opposed to retrievalT. hey statet hatt he users "are less professionsh as multiplep ossible careert racks,t he selectionw as
concerned with how to discover images than with whether the restrictedb y the kind of work performedb y each of the user
image libraryw ill containr elevanti mages at all."38 groups. The participantsi ncluded in the archaeologist and art
The above studies help to informo ur knowledge of image historianu ser groups were expected to be actively involved in
users' informationb ehaviors. It was against this backdrop that teaching and research at the college or universityl evel. These
the currents tudy set out to examine professionali mage users' two groups shared a common foundation in the pedagogical
selectiona nd use of image resources. and research-orientedw ork they performed. The participants
CurrenStt udy included in the study of the architecta nd artist user groups
also shared a similar professionalg oal. These participantsw ere
Several researchq uestions focusingo n the image resources included ift heyw ere presentlyp roducing creativew orks (archi-
of these professionalu ser groups were developed fort he current tectureo r art). The architectsw ere included in the study if they
study.T hese include: were working either in an architecturalf irmo r self-employed
• What image resources are used by these professionalsi n and were paid to create architecturald esigns; the artistsw ere
the performanceo f theirw ork? expected to be practicingf inea rtistsw orking in any media who
self- identifieda s artists.
• Which image resources are preferredb y these profes-
sionals? For inclusioni n the study it was also expected thatt he artists
were creating works that had a primarily aesthetic purpose
• What impact, if any, does their discipline have on their rather than a functionalo ne, and that these individuals were
selectiono f image resources? activelye xhibitingt heirw ork. Of the fouru ser groups included
in the study,t he artistsw ere the only individuals who performed
supplemental work to support themselves. While all of these
Table1 : DemographCich aracteristoicfsP articipantbsy U serG roup
No. m __ -- __-- Years in „„ ...... AA oo ......
__ Gender Education __ ,, .. Position Area Setting
Group Profession
Archaeologist User Group
InstructorA, sst. Professor& Etruscan,G reek,R oman, Small College &
Professor Hellenistic Large University
ArchitectU ser Group
oOObEE ttВ^^A aaiioor ch & AA ллгглл THTTTe adjj ofгг,, G-- rapiih ..i c DТТЧЧe si••g n, C„„ ivic..,,, EdLLuc.. a..t i..o,,n al,,, .. ,, .. C~~ onsuluut anLLt ,Srr mal,,,,l tLLo
6 ллууггаа ii 4-40 ^^ .. aaii...... Residential,M edical & TT „„..
3M MArch Desig°° ner,A rchitect TTTT .. „„ ,, Lar°°g e Firm
Urban Renewal
Art Historian User Group
.. лл„„ MA& лл-- лллл тт ^^ LL 00 „„ ££ Ancient,M edieval,'' Small College &
4 4F nnuunn 15"41 Instructor& ProfeSSOr ~~ TTTT •• --44,,
PhD Renaissance, Contemporary Large University
ArtistU ser Group
лл--сс ttiitt--аа оо Multimedia'', P ainter'' , ^^ nnLL ,,.. 00 OOLL ,,..
6,, 442FFM WWMBFF„„AAAA& 7„7„ --AA4400PP ii __P.... n ..n --t.... m a..k er,S cul.. vvp t.. or,MM ii..xx eedd,, _F_i..ььg ura..t..i ve&& QQ AAллииbb sstt.. rraacc..tt Owwi..t.. nh C„„S otulnnlda bi,,o o r&a tS....it vued io
Media
26 ArDt ocumenta•t iVoonl um3e0 ,N umb2e r• 2011
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individualss elf-identifiaesd a rtistst,w oo ft hes ixp articipantins The memberc heckc onsistedo f sendinga summaryo f the
thisg roupp erformesdo me formo fw orkw hichd iverteda part findingtso participantisn each oft hef ourg roupss tudied.T he
of theirt imef romt heira rt-makingA.s thisp aid workd id not aimw as to speakw itho ne individuafl rome achg roupt o ensure
interferwei tht heira bilityt o producew orksf ore xhibitiont,h ey thatw hatw as beingr eportedw as in facta n accurater eflection
werei ncludedi n thes tudy. oft heseu sers'w orkw ithi mages.T elephoner e-interviewwse re
Recruitmento f participantsw as completed using the carriedo ut, and the participantsc'o mmentso n the summary
so-called snowball or chain method.3T9 hrought his method were gathered.P articipantsr' esponsesr eceived during the
colleaguesk nownt o the researchearc ted as contactsf ora ddi- member-checinkt erviewco nfirmetdh att her esearchehra d been
tionalp rofessionalTs.h esep otentiapl articipantws erec ontacted able to captureu sers'e xperienceasn d workingm ethodsi n the
by ther esearchera,n d a serieso fb asic questionsw erea sked to summary.A42s ther esearchehra d seto utt o providea n accurate
determinief the individualsm ett he study'si nclusionc riteria. descriptiono f the image users' thoughtsb, eliefs,a nd experi-
If the participantms et the criteriaa nd expresseda desiret o ences,s upporto f thef indingbs y thep articipantws as a critical
continuep articipationin the study,a meetingw as arranged componenitn ensuringth ec redibilitoyf t hes tudy.
betweent het wo partiesA. ftert her equisitein stitutionrale view
boardd ocumentsc oncernintgh es tudyh ad been explaineda nd Findings
signed,d ata collectionb egan. Presentedb elow are thef indingosf t hes tudyr elatedt o the
DataC ollectainodnA nalysis participantsse' lectiono fi mager esourcesT. he studyc onducted
by thef irsta uthorr eaffirmesdo me of thef indingos f previous
Data for this studyw as collectedf rome ach participant researchs tudiess urroundintgh ist opic,u ncoveredn ew infor-
througha paper survey( AppendixA ) and a one-on-onese mi- mation,a nd in some cases revealedc hangesi n attitudesa nd
structuredin terview( AppendixB ). The participantss' urvey behaviorsO. f particulanr otea re thef indingosn preferencefso r
responsesa nd thei nterviewws ere transcribeuds ingM icrosoft imager esourceasm ongt hep rofessionauls erss urveyed.
Word. The image users' processes,b ehaviors,a nd opinions
discussedi n the surveysa nd interviewws ere analyzedu sing ParticipRanantsk' ionfIg m agRee sources
case-orderedd isplays( see below) and thec onstancto mparative Responsesw ere gatheredt hrought he surveyi nstrument
methodt hroughth eq ualitativer esearchso ftwarNe Vivo.40 aboutt hev ariousk indso fi mager esourceus sed by thep artici-
The surveya nd interviewr esponsesw ere importedi nto pantsa nd theirp referenceOs.n e surveyq uestion( Whatt ypeso f
NVivo and examinedf or several kinds of contentT. he first
resourceds o you use to findi mages?)p resentedth ep articipants
methodo f analysis,c ase-orderedd isplays,c onsistedo f culling witha listo fp ossiblec hoiceso fr esource(sb ooks,a nalogi mage
all direct,f act-basedr esponsest o the researcher'sq uestions. libraries,4im3 age databases,p ersonalc ollectionasn d websites)
An example of this type of question-responswe ould be one as well as providingt hemt he optiont o writei n theiro wn
concernintgh es pecificr esourcets hep articipantnso teda s being responsesT. heyw erea skedt o rankt her esourceus singa Likert
theirm osto ftenu sed sourcef ori mages.T he responseso fa ll of scale (1-mosti mportantto 5-leasti mportanta)c cordingt o how
the participantws ere thenc omparedw ithint heiru ser group importaneta ch resourcew as believedt o be in thep erformance
and acrossa ll oft hes tudy'su serg roups.T he constancto mpara- of theirw ork.W hile the majorityo f individualsr ankedo ne
tivem ethodo f data analysisw as used to examinet het hematic selectionf ore ach numbert,h ei nstructionaps peart o have been
patternst hat emergedf romt he participantsr' esponses.A n uncleart o severalp articipantws ho appliedt hes amen umbert o
exampleo f a themew ould be a responsew herea participant multipler esources.
notedh is or herf rustratioinn usingp articularim ager esources. As can be seen in Table 2, severalf acetsw ere examined
Additional,r epeatedp asses throught he data revealedf urther throught hiss urveyq uestion.T hese consistedo f thep referred
themesa nd sub-themesT. he emergentc odes representintgh e imagef orma(td igitalo r analog)a nd thel evelo fu se ofp erson-
themesw erer ecordedd, efineda,n d reviseda s thed ataw as read ally owned, created,a nd/ or experiencedim ages.T he overall
and re-read.
findingps ointt o a preferencfeo rd igitalr esourcesa mongt he
Two checksw ere completedf ort hiss tudyt o evaluatet he professionalisn the archaeologista,r chitecta,n d art historian
reliabilityo f the findingsT. hese consistedo f an inter-coder user groups.T he artistsh, owever,p referredp rinta nd other
assessmenta nd a memberc heck.T o ensuret hatt hec odes were
analogr esourcesT. he artistu serg roupw as also foundt o prefer
reflectivoef thea ctualt hemesp resentin thed ata,e ightc oders to use imagesf romt heirp ersonalc ollectionsT. he responseso f
were recruitedt o check twenty-fivpea ssages takenf romt he thea rchitecuts erg roup,t oo,i ndicatedt hatt heiro wnc ollections
collectedd ata. The coders were given a definedl ist of codes of imagesp lay an importanrto le in the performancoef their
and asked to assignt wo codes,o ne at a broadl evel and one at work.
a detailedl evel,t o each of thet wenty-fivpea ssages.T he codes
frome ach coderw erec ollecteda, nd thei nter-codearg reements
were thent allied.T he broadert hematicc odes applied to the
passages saw a 96 percenta greemenrt atea crossa ll codersa nd
ther esearcherT.h e moref ocusedc odes achieveda n agreement
rateo f8 1 percentT. hesea greemenrta tesa mongt hec odersa nd
ther esearchewr eres ufficienactc ordingt oO le Holsti'sr eliability
measuret hresholdof 8 0 percent.41
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Tabl2e: Typoef R esourPcer eferrbeydU serG roup weres eena s farl ess importanbty them ajorityof p articipantisn
Digital Analog Personal thea rtistg roupw itho nlyt wo (ofs ix)p articipantrsa nkingt hem
highly.
S ^ Overh alf( eleveno ft wentyo) ft her espondentnso tedd igital
8) -g -S imaged atabasesa s them osto r second-mositm portanrte source
s s й § fort heiri mage needs. They were seen as being importantto
nearlya ll memberso f the archaeologist(t hreeo f four),a rchi-
il ìli tect( fouro f six) and arth istorian(t hreeo f four)u ser groups.
ja .s $ g Discussionso f theu se of digitali maged atabasesb y theseu ser
groupsd uringt hei nterviewcse nteredo n thea vailabilityof t he
S s I Ë ! 3 S & contentt heyn eeded. "I wentt o ARTstorf irst... . It is a good
Г * I 1 » s i i i repositorfyo rt hem ainstreamim agest hatI would need fora n
introductorcyou rse."[ Archaeologis2t, l ines8 6-88o ft ranscribed
interview]
ArchaeologisIt4 4 12 4 3 Howeverd igitali maged atabasesd id not sharea similarly
high level of importancea mong the participantisn the artist
Archaeologis2t 12 3 4 group.F romt he interviewr esponseso f the artistst, he digital
Archaeologists 5 3 4 1 2 imaged atabasesw eren otb elievedt o containt hec ontentt hey
Archaeologis4t 2 13 5 4 soughtt o performth eirw ork." Mostly[ I findi magesi n] books
fromm yp ersonall ibraryan d also fromt heI nternetI .n everu se
Architec1t 2 13 5 4 stockc atalogs.I don'tl ike thel anguagea nd I thinki t is pretty
Architec2t 2 14 5 3 3 cliché.I t justb othersm e." [Artist1 , lines 164-66o f transcribed
interviewO] r theyw ere able to findw hat theys oughto n the
Architect3 5 14 3 2 2
open web. "I findt hatf orm y own practiceI am able to find
Architec4t 2 14 3 whatI need throughp ublicv enues. .. I knowh ow to use search
Architects 4 1 3 2 enginesw ell enoughu sing Boolean termsa nd such thatI can
usuallyn arrowd own what I want prettyq uickly.S o I don't
Architec6t 13 6 4 5 2 reallyn eed academicd atabasesf ori mages,a lthoughI use them
ArtH istorian1 2 15 4 3 forjo urnalsa lot."[ Artis1t, l ines1 64-66o ft ranscribeidn terview]
One participantin the artistg roup rankedt hese highly,
ArtH istorian2 2 14 5 3
however.D uringt he interviewt,h is artistd iscussed how the
ArtH istorian3 12 5 4 3 subjectm atters he soughtw as easier to findi n a database of
ArtH istorian4 3 4 2 1 5 digitali mageso ro n theo penW eb." I primariluys e FlickrI. p rob-
ablyw on'tu se books. .. I usuallyj ustf indt hatt herea res o many
Artisti 3 14 2 moreo n theret hanI would findi n the books in one library."
Artist2 5 4 5 1 3 12 [Artis6t, lines1 51-54o ft ranscribeidn terview]
Websitesw ere seen to be an importantr esourceb y the
Artist3 6 5 3 2 14 4
majority(t hirteeonf twentyo) fp articipantosv erall,a nd by the
Artist4 6 3 4 1 5 2 majorityof p articipantins thea rchaeologis(tt hreeo ff our)a, rchi-
Artist5 5 3 4 2 1 tect( fiveo f six),a nd arth istorian(t hreeo f four)u ser groups.
While two artist-participanrtasn ked websites as theirm ost
Artist6 115 5 1 importanrte sourcef orf indingim ages,t her emainingm embers
Ranked1 st 5 10 - 4 - - 4 - - (fouro f six) of thisg roupf oundt heml ess importanft ort heir
imagen eeds.
Ranked2 nd 6 3 13 1-33-
Ranked3rd 2 4 4 4-141- AnaloRge sources
Ranked4 th 1 2 9 4 - - 2 1 1 Severalk inds of analog materialsa ppeared in the list of
surveyr esponsest; hesec onsistedo f printedb ooks and maga-
Ranked5 th 4 14 5-12--
zines,a nda nalogc ollectionosf v isualm aterial(sp hotographasn d
Ranked6 th 2 - 1 ----- - photographiscl ides). Additionalf ormatsw ere noted through
the participantso' wn written-irne sponses.A nalog resources,
Numbero f
whiles tillh oldinga degreeo fi mportancteo theseu serg roups'
response s | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 15 5 | 1 image seeking,w ere seen as being only modestlyi mportant
and so were rankeda t thirdo r below by the majority(e leven
DigitRael sources of twentyo) f participantisn the study.O ne exceptiont o this
was founda mongt hea rtistg roup- book resourcews eres cored
Digitalr esourcesw ere foundt o figurep rominentliyn the highlyb y the majority(f iveo f six) of participantsW. hen the
resourcese mployedb y a majority(f ourteenof twentyo) f the surveyr esponseso f thep articipantisn all fouru ser groupsa re
participantisn thea rchaeologis(tt hreeo ff our),a rchitec(ts ix of examined,it is cleart hata nalog collectionso f visual materials
six)a nd arth istorian(t hreeo ff our)u serg roupsT. heser esources
28 ArDt ocumenta•t iVoonl um3e0 ,N umb2e r• 2011
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(photographasn d photographiscl ides)w eren otb elievedt o be conceptuallyli nkedt o books.A notherr easonf ort heo mission
a highlyi mportanrte sourcet o theirw ork.A singlep articipant may be thatt he wordingo f the surveyq uestionp resupposes
(ArtH istorian4 ) rankedt hesei n second place in importance thatt he participanwt ould be performinag directs earchf or
witht hem ajorityo f participant(sf ourteenof n ineteenp) lacing an imagea s opposed to followingg eneralb rowsingb ehaviors.
analogc ollectionisn fourthp lace orb elow. Throught hei nterviewist was discoveredt hatm agazinesw ere
The usefulnesso f books fort he participantsim' agen eeds commonlyu sed in thea rchitectsc'a sual information-gathering
saw an even distributioinn thew ay theyw erer ankedi n terms processesT. he architectnso tedt heyw ould keepa breasto fw hat
ofi mportanceT. herea ppear to be personalp referenceast work was occurringin thef ielda nd make serendipitoudsi scoveries
among the responses of the various participantss ince the whenb rowsingm agazines.
rankingsc ould range fromo ne to fivew ithina singleg roup.
PersonRaels ources
However,w hent hev otesa re examinedb y group,i ti s cleart hat
thes trongesptr eferencfeo rb ooksw as founda mongt hea rtists. A majorityof t hep articipant(sf ifteeonf t wentyn) otedt hat
The majorityo f artist-participan(ftisv eo f six) rankedb ooks as theirp ersonali magec ollectionws ereu sefulr esourcesf ort heir
theirm osti mportanotr second-mositm portanrte sourcein their work.W hilet her ankingo ft hei mportancoef t hisr esourcew as
image-seekinegf forts. modest( rankeda tt hirdo rb elow)a mongt hep articipantins m ost
The artistsc' ommentds uringt hei nterviewrse gardingth e user groups,n earlya ll (fiveo f six) of thea rtistss aw it as their
imagef ormatth eyu sed int heirw orko ffesro mei nsighitn tot heir mosto r second-mositm portanrte source". I have thisd isease
preferenceOs.n e artistm entionedh ow she founda nalogi mages whereI 'm nota llowedt o throwa magazinea way onceI buyi t.
to be more conducivet o her workingm ethodst han digital I don'th ave enoughs pace fort hem.S o, now I will geta whole
images." [I]fi t'si n a booko ri fi t'sa photographit, 'se asierf orm e stacko ft hema nd I wills ita nd I'llj ustg o throughth ep ages and
to workf rom."[A rtis3t, lines1 578-79o ft ranscribeidn terview] whateverI see thats timulatews hateve-r I willj ustp ullt hato ut,
Frustratiowni thr etrievinigm agesv ia thec omputewr as also and I willg eta wholes tacko ft hose.A nd thenI willc uto utt he
noteda s havinga negativeim pacto n seekingv isuali nformation thingt hatI wanteda nd thenI willg etl ikea big sketchb ooka nd
online.T he amounto f times pento nlines earchingf ord igital I'll arranget hes hapes.T heys orto fr elatet o one anotherN. ot a
imagesw as oftens een as counter-productiv"Le.i ke,I give you collage,b ecauseI 'm reallyk eepingt racko ft hes hapes,w hatt hey
a name,I givey ou a date,I givey ou thec ity.. . aah! IfI ask fora are,s o I don'tl ayera nythingB. ut,t heyw ill sorto fb e classified
cityi n Pennsylvaniaan d specifigc uy,I don'tn eedt ok nowa bout visually."[A rtis3t, lines8 98-904o ft ranscribeidn terview]
someg uyi n San FranciscoI. don'te venk nowa bouts omeg uyi n The efforitn volvedi n creatingan organizeds ketchbookof
Texasw hosen amem ighto nlyb e one oft het won ames.A rey ou imagess uggestst hatt hei magesi n thisa rtist'sp ersonalc ollec-
kiddingm e?W hat,d o I gotn othingt o do withm yt ime?S itting tiona rec riticalliym portanRt.e latedt ot heu se ofp ersonali mage
heret widdlingt hroughan d scrollt hroughte nt housand..a. ah!" collectioniss the importancoef imagesc reatedb y the partici-
[Artis1t ,l ines1 319-24o ft ranscribeidn terview] pants.F ivep articipant(os ft wentyn) otedt hei mportancoef t hese
Thea rchitect-participatnotos,,w erec ohesivein t heiro pinion resourcest hroughw ritten-irne sponses". I takem ys ketchbook
of books. However,i n the case of the architectsb,o oks were to my studioa nd draw fromm y sketchbookI. also startedt o
rankedu niformllyo wert hanw as thec ase witht hea rtistsE. ach make[ lithographp]l atesf romm ys ketchbookso thenI printo n
architect'(ss ix of six) rankingo f themf elli n thet hirdp lace or myd rawing.. . I photocopym ys ketchbooakn d thenI turnt hem
below.I nterestingltyh,e a rchitectsst atedt hats eekingo uti mages intop latesa nd thenI printo n paper."[ Artist3 , lines8 98-904
onlinew ould be less timec onsuminga,n d thatt heu se ofd igital oft ranscribeidn terviewW] hilep ersonallycr eatedi mageryw as
imagesb enefittetdh eirw orkp rocesses". I lovet hei dea thatI can rankeda s an importanrte sourceb y severalo ft hea rchitecatn d
go to GoogleE artha nd figureo ut everythintgh atI need to see. thea rtistp articipantisn thes tudyn, one oft hea cademici mage
Then pre-planw hereI am goingt o takep hotographso,r send usersn otedt heu se oft heirv isualc reations.
somebodye lse to taket hep hotographsT. hats aves me thet ime One last resourcea, singlew ritten-isnu rveyr esponseo f
and energy.["A rchitec3t, lines4 46-49o ft ranscribeidn terview] "observational,"m eaning first-handv isual experience,w as
Relatedt o books,i n thatt heya re printedm atterw, as the mentionedb y a sole participant(A rtist3 ) in the study.T he
written-irne sponser egardingm agazinesg ivenb y Architec5t importancoef v isuali nformatioinn t hew orlda roundt hep artic-
and rankeda s his second-mostim portanrt esourceA. lthough ipant,a lthoughn otr ecordedh erei n thes urvey'sr esponsesw, as
the responsest o the surveyq uestiond o not recordt his,t he mentionedd uringt hei nterviewbsy a numbero f thea rchitects
use ofm agazinesa mongt hep articipantisn thea rchitecgtr oup (fouro fs ix)a nd artist(sf iveo fs ix)." I am alwaysl ookinga t stuff.
was strongw, ith the majority(f iveo f six) notingd uringt he I am alwaysc atalogingW. hatc omest om ind. .. is ... whenever
interviewhs ow magazinei magesp layed a role in theirw ork. I am walkinga roundo rw hereverI am,I am alwayst akingn ote
"Whetherit 'sa designm agazineo r it'sa book on architecturore ofm ye nvironmenatr oundm e.I t is just. . . .thatis thel anguage
it's a book on whateverit is ... historicalI.t can be a varietyo f I worki n." [Architec2t, lines3 72-74o f transcribeidn terview]
thingsA. nd thenr eadinga n articlee ven in then ewspapero r in Becauseo ft hisd iscoveryit i s likelyt hatd irectp ersonale ngage-
a magazinew illg ivem e ideas,o r you will see an advertisement mentw ithv isuals timuluisn theird ailyl ivesp laysa n important
fors omethingli ke a tilec ompanyo r a stonef oundryA. nd so, role in what each of theset wo user groupsp erceivea s image
thats endsy ou offo n tangents.. ." [Architec1t, lines8 82-86o f seeking.45
transcribeidn terview] The developmenotf p ersonalc ollectionws as foundt o be a
The cause of the omissiono f magazinesi n theirs urvey copingm echanismre sultinfgr omt hef rustratiotnh ep rofessional
responsesi s unclear.I t mayb e because thisr esourcet ypew as imageu serse xperiencedin associationw itht heiri magen eeds.
Volum30e,N umb2e • r2 011 • ArDto cumentation 29
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The themeo f frustratiowna s discoveredd uringt hei nterviews Table3 : FavoriteI mage Resourceb y User Group
oft hes tudy'sp articipantasn, d severalc auseso ff rustratiowne re
foundb: arriertso access,b arriertso availabilityd,i fficultidesu e Digital Analog Personal
to the amounto f timea nd effornte eded to meetn eeds,f inan-
cial issues,a nd technologicaolb staclesT. he mostc ommonw ay So .5
thatt heseu serg roupst riedt o overcomet hesec hallengews as to 2 'S
cqrueaartteet rhsoe firt o hwenp acrotlliecciptiaonnoth fsa pde dresovnelaolmp eadtp eerriaslosIn.n a lfc aocllte,tc htrioene-s Vею ..ЙЙSN чдон wI-§J
ofm aterialsin ordert o bypasst hec hallengest heyf acedw hen II I I j
tryingto findi mages.T he academicu sersn otedt heyd id this
throughf indingim ageso nlinei n theo pen web,b y purchasing
commerciallayv ailable images,a nd by photographinwg orks lilii i Ï 1
themselveds uringt heirt ravels". I add imagest hatГ v e taken
in museums. . . thatI 've takenw hileI 've traveled[,a nd] that U U < £ U S M О О
IVe collectedo vert hey ears."[ ArtH istorian4 , lines4 44-47o f Archaeologist Т - 2 R - Т 1
transcribeidn terview] Architect 3 3 - - 1 1 - 1
Scanningim agesf oundi n printedp ublicationws as another
ArtH istorian 4 - - - - -
methodm entionedf ord ealingw ith a lack of suitablei mage
resources".T heya re nott herea, nd so I do have to go to books Artist 1 _- - 1 - - 3 1
at thatp oint,a nd I also makes uret hatI geta loto fb ooksw hen NUMBER 9 1 15 11
^3__2__2
I'm travelingar ound.E speciallyo nes withn icec olorp ictures."
[Archaeologis4t, lines2 84-86o ft ranscribeidn terview] T (fort eaching)R; (forr esearch)
The architect-participatnotos developed severalw ays to The resultss upportt hef indingt hatt herew as a preference
cope witht hel ack ofi mager esourcesin theirw orkplacesO. ne ford igitalr esourcesa mongt he majorityo f participantisn the
methodw as theu se oft heiro wnp ersonalm aterialos rr esources archaeologis(tt hreoe ff our)a,r chitec(tf iveo fs ix),a nda rth istorian
belongingt o theirc olleagues." A loto fp eople in theo fficteh ey groups( fouro ff our)T. he preferencfeo rc ommercia(lA RTstor,48
have books at theird esk and so theyw ould say 'Do you want DreamstimeV, iewportA, rchivisiona) nd in-housed eveloped
to look at thata rchitect?O' h, of course!" [Architec6t, lines (MDID) digitali mage databases was found only among the
330-31o f transcribeidn terviewC] ollectingim ages of designs archaeologist(t hreeo f four)a nd architect(t hreeo f six) user
theyf oundi nterestingof, tenu nrelatedt o the currentp rojects groups.4A9R Tstoirs includeda s a uniquee ntryin Table3 sincei t
on which theyw ere workingw, as anotherc ommona ctivity was notedb y moret hano ne participantT.h e otherc ommercial
mentionedas a wayt o alleviatet hep roblemcs ausedb y a lacko f digitald atabasesm entionedb y thep articipantws erea ll unique
usefulr esources".W e'reb uildinga libraryin, effectin, theh opes instancegs ivenb ya singlei ndividualS. omewhats urprisinwg as
thatt heset hingsa re just on file."[ Architec3t, lines 114CMLo1f thef indingth atn one of thea rth istorian-participaindtesn tified
transcribeidn terview] digitald atabasesa s theirf avoriter esourceT. he reasonb ehind
The artist-participanttoso, , noted theira ttemptst o cope thisf indingis uncleara nd warrantasd ditionarl esearch.
witha lack of access to resourcest hrought he developmenot f Insteado f a digitali mage database,a ll of the participants
theiro wnp ersonalc ollectionAs. ll oft hea rtistds iscussedh aving (fouro f four)i n the art historiang roup were unanimousi n
a personalc ollectionof r esourcem ateriaalt theird isposal.S ome theirs electiono fG oogle Imagesa s theirf avoritre esourceT. his
of the artistsn oted theiro wn personalc ollectionw as richer bringsu p a keyi ssue thatn eeds to be emphasizedh ere:h alfo f
fort heirn eeds thant hosea vailablet o themt hroughth eirl ocal thep articipantnsa meda searche nginea s theirf avoritree source.
publicl ibraries".I n a loto fw ays form ys pecificin terestist [his It is clearf romt hea rth istorianss'e lectiono fG oogle Imagesa s
book collectioni]s bettert hanm y regionall ibraryI.f I want to theirf avoritree sourcet hatw, hilet heyw erek eeno n usingo nline
brancho ut intot hingsI don'tr eallyl ook at thato ftent, henI 'll resourcest,h erew as no singleo utstandingr esourcet heyc ould
go to theS mithC ountyL ibrary"[f ictitioulisb raryn ame].[ Artist identifyto meett heiri mage needs. Google or Google Images
2, lines3 15-17o ft ranscribeidn terviewT] o accessr esourcens ot was also noteda s beingt hef avoritree sourcea mongt hem ajority
in theirp ersonalc ollectionsf,a ctorssu ch as distancet, ime,a nd (fouro f six) of thea rchitect-participanFtrso.m t hesef indingist
efforwt erew eigheda gainstt hen eed fort hei mage(s). is apparentt hatt hem ajorityof usersw ithint heset hreeg roups
ParticipFanavtos'r Iimtea gRee sources ares earchingf ori mageso nlinet hroughd igitali maged atabases
and/ ors earche ngines.
In ordert o discoverw hichr esourcesw ere preferredt,h e Showing the opposite trend- a preferencef or analog
participantws ere asked to providea writtenr esponsen aming resource-s were the surveyr esponseso f the majorityo f the
theirf avoritre esource(I f you had to name one specificim age artist-participan(ftos uro f six). While two individualsi n this
resourcea s yourf avoritew, hatw ould it be?).46A s can be seen group identifiedo nline resources( Google Images and Flickr,
in Table3 , ther esponseso ft hep articipantws erev aried,r anging respectivelya) s their favorite,t he remaininga rtistsn oted
fromd igitali mage databases,s earch engines,w ebsites,a nd theirp referencfeo rp rintedm aterials( books,m agazines,a nd
personali magest o printedm aterialss uch as books and maga- personalp hotographsT). wo individualsi n thes tudyb, othf rom
zines.N everthelessse, verali nterestinpga tternws eref ound. thec reativeu ser groups,n otedt hatt heirf avoritre esourcew as
personali mages.50
30 ArDto cument• aVtioolnum 30e,N umb2e • r2 011
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DiscussioonfF indings morer ecents tudyb yE lama lso suggestst hata rth istorianhs ave
notf ullye mbracedd igitali magesi n theirw orkp racticesI.n her
The findingrse latedt o thei mager esourcecso nsultedb yt he studyo f six arth istorianEs lam notest hatt heirl ack of digital
professionauls er groupsi n thiss tudya dd to thek nowledgeo f image adoptionw as the resulto f a lack of comforwt itht ech-
wherei ndividualss eeko utv isuali nformatioBne. yonda ddingt o nologya nd limiteda warenesso f resources.6H0o wever,t he art
thel imitedr esearchs urroundinigm ageu sers'i mager esources, historianisn thec urrenstt udyl ookedm oref avorablyup on the
thep resents tudy'sf indingsso metimeosf fera competingv ision use ofd igitali mages.T he reasonf ort hed ivergenfti ndingws ith
ofw heret heseu sersf indt heirv isuali nformatioTnh. ef ollowing priors tudiesa nd thec urrenstt udyi s unclearI.t mayb e thatt he
discussionf ocuseso n thef indingosf t hec urrenstt udya nd how presents tudyw as conducteda ftera watershedm omentin the
thesec omparet o the resultso f past researche ffortsT.h e first arth istoriansa'c ceptancea nd adoptiono f digitali mages.6I1t is
aspectt ob e discussedi s theu sers'p referenceins termso fi mage also possiblet hatt hes everala rth istorianisn terviewefdo rt he
formatf,o llowedb ya n examinatioonf t hep ersonali magec ollec- currenstt udya ll had an unusuallyh ighl evelo fc omforwt orking
tionsd evelopedb y theu sers. witht echnologyT.h isf indingin thec urrenstt udyi s an inconsis-
The resourcep referenceasm ong the participantrse vealed tencyt hatn ecessitateasd ditionarl esearchf orc larification.
thatt he majorityo f thep articipantisn thea rchaeologista,r chi- The findingsa ssociatedw itht he artistu ser groupi n the
tect,a nd arth istoriang roupsn otedt heirp referencfeo ro nline currenstt udyp resentasn entireldyi fferenpitc turteh ant hato ft he
imaged atabasesa nd/ ord igitali magesf oundt hroughw ebsites. othert hreeu serg roups.A lthought wo artist-participannotst ed
Comparisonso f thesef indingws ithe arliers tudiesa re difficult thatd igitali mage databasesa nd/ or websitesw ere important
because thea rchaeologistsa'n d architectism' ageb ehaviorsa nd to theiri mages eekingt, herew as a markedp referencfeo rp rint
use of technologyh ave receivedl imiteda ttentionT.h e existing resourceasm ongt hem ajoritoyf t hea rtists.T62h ea rtisgt roupa lso
literaturaed dressingar chaeologistisn' formatiobne haviorsp res- preferreuds ing images fromt heirp ersonalc ollectionsT. hese
entsa conflictinpgi ctureO. ne body of literaturiell ustratetsh at two findingsc oncerningar tistsh' eavy use of printm aterials
thed isciplineo fa rchaeologyh as embracedt echnologicatlo ols,51 and theiro wn personall ibrariesis supportedb y the studyo f
and yet when academica rchaeologistsi'n formatiobne haviors artistsi'n formation-seekbinehg aviorsr eportedb y Cobbledick.63
have been examinedi t appearst hata t leastf ort extuali nforma- Howeverc, onflictinfgin dingasb outa rtistsp' referencfeo ro nline
tiont heyc ontinuet o favorp rinteda nalogm aterials.W52h ilet he versus printr esourcesh ave been reportedi n recents tudies.
studyb yH uvila examinesa nd supportst hes trongu se ofi mages Gregoryf oundt hat6 7 percento f the artist-respondenntost ed
by academica rchaeologistist,r emainsf rustratingsliyle nto n the theya ccessedi magest hroughG oogleI mageso r otherI nternet
resourcets heye mployedt o findv isualm aterials. sites.6V4i sicke t al. also foundt herew as a strongp referencfeo r,
Several studiesh ave been publishedo n architectsi'n for- and use of,o nliner esourceas mongt hea rtistts heye xamined.65
mationb ehaviors.5H3 owever,a s the majorityo f these were These two recents tudiess eem to suggesta trendt owardt he
completeda numbero f years ago, discussionsa re generally increasedu se ofo nliner esourceas monga rtistsI.t is interesting
limitedt o analog materialsT. heyt hereforoef ferf ew compari- thatt hec urrenstt udy'sf indingds o notc orroboratteh es tudies
sons to thec urrenstt udy'sf indingfs ort hea rchitectps'r eference ofG regoryor V isicke ta l. A possiblec ausef ort hev ariationin t he
foro nlinei mager esourcesA. meE lliott's2 002s tudyo fa rchitects' studies'f indingms ayb e ther esulto f thed ifferendta ta collec-
use ofi magess uggestst hatt hisu serg rouph ad noty ete mbraced tionm ethodsu sed to examinea rtistsi'n formatiobne haviorso, r
digital images or web-based image searching.5T4h e current itm ayb e thatt hec urrenstt udyc ontaineda groupw hosei mage
study found that architectsw' orkingm ethodsw ere heavily resourcesw ere markedlya nalog-orientewd hen comparedt o
dependento n digitali mages,t hew eb, and computert echnolo- theirp eers.T he cause of thev ariationin thef indingrs equires
gies.T hesef indingisn dicatet hata markeds hiftin thew orking additionarl esearchf orc larificatiopnu rposes.
processeso f the professionh ave occurredi n the intervening Personallyd eveloped image collectionsw ere found to
yearsb etweent hes tudies.M akria nd Warwick'rs ecentr esearch play an importanrto lei n thew ork-relateidm ageb ehaviorso f
intot hei nformatiobne haviorso fg raduatea rchitectursteu dents all fouro f the study'su ser groups,w itht hree-quarteorfs the
offerss upportf ort he currentst udy'sf indingsc oncerningth e participantnso tingt heiru se. Previouss tudiest o examinei mage
importancoef v isual materialst o architects.T5h5e ser esearchers users suggestt hisi s a commonp racticeA. ttig,C opeland,a nd
foundt hatG ooglea nd GoogleI magesw eret hec hiefe ntryp oint Pelikan'ss urveyo ft hea cademicu serc ommunitoyn PennS tate's
to findingv isual contentb y thes tudentsa,n d thatt hed evelop- campusesf oundt hat4 4 percento f facultyan d studentr espon-
mento fp ersonalc ollectionosf i magesw as widespread.56 dentsm aintainedp ersonalc ollectionosf d igitali mages.6A6s has
The use of digitali magesb y arth istorianhs as been rela- been mentionedp reviouslyi,n formatiorne gardingt he image
tivelyw ell examinedi n recenty ears,b ut theses tudieso ffera practiceso fa cademica rchaeologistasn d practicinagr chitectiss
contrastinvgi ew to the presents tudy'sf indingsB. ailey and limitedS. upportinge videncei n the literaturfeo rt he personal
Grahame xamineda rth istoriansu' se of digitali magesi n their imagec ollectionp racticeso f archaeologistiss absent.H owever,
2000 studya nd foundt hese users had negativec onnotations in thec ase of architectEs,l liottf oundi n hers tudyt hatt heya ll
associatedw ith itemsf oundo n the web.57A t thatt imet hey had theiro wnp ersonalc ollectionof i mages,a nd thatt hesec ould
foundt hata rth istorianbs elievedm aterialsf oundo n the web contains everalh undredi mages.6A7 numbero f studieso f art
lackeda uthorityT.h eser esearcherasl so reporta lack ofi nterest historiansa nd artistsc orroboratteh e presents tudy'sf indings
in usingd igitali mage databasesa mongt he arth istoriantsh ey regardingth e use of personalc ollectionsC. hallener'ss tudyo f
surveyed.5R8o se's 2002 studyp resenteds imilarf indingsw, ith arth istorianrse portedt hatt heyu sed theirp ersonalc ollections
the majorityo f her art historianr espondentns otinga lack of ofm aterialsa nd made theiro wn slideso r photographs.E6l8a m
in-depths cholarlyr esourcesa nd a lack of usefuli mages.5A9
Volum3e0 ,N umb2e r• 2011 • ArDt ocumentotion 3 1
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also foundp ersonallyd evelopedi mage collectionsa monga rt Relatedt o theirp ersonalc ollectionb uildinge ffortiss the
historiansS.h e observedt hato ne academica rth istorianin her realizationa mong the participantst hat they were probably
studyw as hesitantt o move intot he digitalr ealmb ecause she replicatingth e work of othersi n theiri mage processinga nd
had developeda sizablep ersonals lidec ollectionov ert hec ourse managementef fortsT.h e users in the academicg roupss tated
ofh ert hirty-five-yceaarre er.69 thatt heyw ould welcomet heo pportunittyo contributteo and
Personalc ollectionosf r esourcews eref oundt o be them ost use a largei magec ollectionsh areda crossm anyi nstitutionIst. i s
heavilyu sed byt hea rtist-participanTthsi.s f indingis supported noti nconceivablteo thinko f an onlined atabaseo f imagest hat
by Cobbledickw, ho notedi n hers tudyt hatp ersonalc ollections couldt akea dvantageo ft hek nowledgei,m ages,a nd expertisoe f
ofm aterialws erem aintainedan d consultedb yt hea rtists.M70o re professionalws ho workw ithi magesa nd do iti n an easy-to-use
recentst udiesb yV isicke ta l. and Hemmiga lso foundt hata rtists and low- or no-costw ay. Since users in thiss tudyh ave expe-
have developedp ersonalc ollectionss upportingt heirn eeds.71 riencedd ifficultietsr yingt o finda nd archivet heiro wn digital
The collectionsc reatedb y individualsw ere noted as being images,t herei s an added incentivef ort hemt o upload their
criticatl o the workp rocesseso f severala rchitect(st wo of six) imagest o an onlines itet hatc ould provideb otho rganizational
and one artist(o ne ofs ix) in thep resents tudyH. emmig'ss tudy and archivasl upportW. hiles omec reativein dividualsw illh ave
also foundt hat" imagesg eneratedd irectlyf romy ouri magina- concernsa bout intellectuapl ropertyr ightsw hen sharingt heir
tion"a rea majors ourceo fv isuali nformatiofno rw orkingar tists, images,m ethodsc anb e developedt ol imita ccesst ot heirim ages
althoughh e does nots uggestt hatt hesei magesb e fixedi n any in ordert o protectt hesef romm isuse.G ivent hec urrentlayv ail-
medium.7V2i sicke t al. also mentiont he artistsu' se of person- able technologiest,h ep opularityo fp hoto-sharinsge rvicess uch
ally createdi mages.7A3 dditionald iscussionso f these images as Panoramioa nd Flickra,n d thep articipantbs'r oad use of the
were not discoveredi n thel iteraturaed dressingt he artistso' r Internetit, would be possiblet o assistt heseu sersi n managing
thea rchitectisn' formatiobne haviors. theirp ersonali magesi n an onlines ettingO. nlines ystemsh ave
thea dded advantageo f allowingc ontentu sers to apply terms
Conclusioannsd F uturRee search and descriptiontso images.W hetherth eu ser-suppliedin forma-
The mostc riticacl hallengesf acingt hei mageu sersi n this tioni s availablet o otherso r onlyt o thei ndividualu serw ho has
studyw eret hei nadequatea vailabilityof ,a nd accesst o,a ppro- uploaded thei mage,i tss trengtihs in thes upplementalle vel of
priatev isual contentt o meet theirn eeds. Codifiedc ollection accessp rovidedt o thev isuali nformatioSni.n cea ccesst o images
developmenpt racticess imilart o thosef orp rintc ollectionds o was noteda s beinga challengef orm ostp articipantisn thes tudy,
not existf orv isual materialss,o therei s no standarda gainst efforttso wardi mprovinigm ager etrievailn theo nlines ettingf or
whicht o judge the holdingso f an institutioonr a database. professionaiml ageu sersp resumablyw ould be welcomed.
Becauseo f thel imiteda ttentionpa id to providingim ageu sers The findingo fl imitedu se ofo nlined igitali maged atabases
witha dequate contentin both subjectm attera nd in quality,74 by the image users in the studyp romptsa dditionalr esearch
theyw eref oundt o use printp ublicationtso meetm anyo ft heir intot hec ause(s).S everalu serss uggestedt hatt hesei nformation
needs.T hisw as thec ase event hought hem ajorityof t hes tudy's systemsd id not yetc ontaint he deptha nd breadtho f content
participantpsr eferreuds ing onliner esourcesA. n even clearer theyn eeded.T hiss ituationco ulda lso be indicativeo fa dditional
indicationof t hec riticanl eed fora dditionailm agec ontenits the issues,s ucha s theu sers'l imitedt echnologicaalb ilitiesf, inancial
findingth att hree-quarteorfst hep articipantisn thes tudyw ere barriersa,n d/ or theirl ack of knowledgea bout availabled ata-
activelyd evelopingt heiro wn collectiontso avoid futurep rob- bases. The usabilityo f the availablei mage databasesa lso may
lemsw ithi magea vailability. contributteo theirl imiteda doptions incet heym ayn otb e well-
Therea res everalw ayst hati nformatiopnr ofessionalcso uld suitedt ot heu sers't echnologicaslk illsA. s manyu serse xpressed
assist these image users. The firsto f these involvesh elping a belieft hatt heirt echnologicaslk illsw erel imitedi,t is a factor
thatw arrantfs uturree searchF. inanciabl arrierws erea lso associ-
imageu sersc reatem, anage,a nd preservet heirp ersonali mage
collectionsT.h em ajorityof t hep articipantins thes tudyf eltt heir ated witht hel imitedu se of image databasesb y severalu sers,
technologicaslk illsw erei nadequatet o thet asksa ssociatedw ith and potentiaul sersw ere not particularlwy ell-informeadb out
the developmenta nd maintenancoe f theiri mage collections. the range of image databases available to them.F rom these
Thesei mageu sersw ould benefitf romc leari nstructionasb out findingist is cleart hati maged atabasep rovidersn eed to show
the various technologieass sociatedw ith digitali mages.T his imageu sersa professionalel velo fs ervicet hrougha consistently
includesi nformatiownr ittenin lay termsf ort heh ardwarea nd highl evel of image qualitye, xpertlyap plied descriptivien for-
softwarues ed fori magep rocessesu, sefulm ethodso fi magef ile mationa, nd contentd eptha nd breadtht hatm eetsu sers'n eeds.
manipulationa,n d image filen aming.T hese usersw ould also Furthermorteh, eym ustp rovides ystemf eaturest hatc atert o
benefift romin structionans d assistancein archivingth eirim age the technologicaslk illl evel of theiru sers and do a betterjo b
files.S everal participantisn the studyw ere not performing ofe ducatingu sersa boutt hec ontento f thed atabases.I f digital
any formo f digitali mage archivingf ort he personali mages image databasep rovidersa chievet heseg oals, it is likelyt hey
theyh ad createda nd accumulatedF. inallyi,n formatiopnr ofes- wills ee increasedu se amongp rofessionailm ageu sers.
sionalsn eedt oh elpu sersm anaget heirp ersonali magesf orl ater The factt hata rtistsw ere foundt o prefert he use of print
retrievalT. hese aspectsw ere foundt o be particularlpyr essing resourceiss an intriguindgi scoveryth ats houlda lso be examined
to the creativeu sers since theiri mage filesw ere rarelys aved morec loselyF. romt hef indingos f thep resents tudyi t appears
in a way thata llowed themt o be easilyr etrievedA. s personal thatt he artistsp referp rintm aterialss incet hisf ormatis better
imagec ollectiongs rowi n size,t hed evelopmenotf u sers's kills suitedt ot heirw orkp rocessesH. owevert, herew erea rtistisn the
forf indingth ei magest heys eekb ecomesm oreo fa challenge. studyw ho used computertso finda nd workw ithi mages,a nd
32 ArDt ocumenta•t iVoonl um3e0 ,N umb2e r• 2011
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions