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LibGuides Manual

Working With Images

Dorothea Lange, photographer. Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California. 1936. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

​Including images in your guides enhances the presentation of textual content. As is possible, include images that already exist on the Library's website -- primarily those available from the digital collections (https://www.loc.gov/collections/).

The sizing and alignment of images is controlled by the Library of Congress LibGuides template and style sheet. It is important to make sure that height, width, and other formatting settings are not specifically included in order to assure responsive display on all devices, including small mobile platforms.

Special Note: When including images from the Library’s digital collections, you must link to the image from the Library’s storage (do not upload the image into the LibGuides storage), and link to the Project One (P1) “item” page for the metadata and digital object (for example: https://www.loc.gov/item/2017762891/)

About the Image on Right: This image is an example of a "right-aligned image with a caption."  This is the most common style of image found in Library of Congress LibGuides

Guidelines for Including Images in LibGuides

  • Use images from the Library's digital collections (https://www.loc.gov/collections/)
  • Add alternative text to images. Alt text communicates content and context found within an image.
  • Do NOT include specific height and width for images; the Library's template and styles will size and align your images
  • Include links from the image itself and from the image caption to the "item" page in P1
  • Links must open in a new tab (target="_blank")
  • Make sure that images can be displayed offsite; if not follow the instructions below (under "Including Rights Restricted, External, or Personal Images" below)
  • If you need to include photos (taken by you or another Library staff member) or screenshots in your guides; follow the instructions below (under "Including Rights Restricted, External, or Personal Images" below)
  • Any image from an external source must be cleared by the Office of the General Counsel (request clearance from Hope O'Keeffe) before it can be used in a LibGuide (look under "Including Rights Restricted, External, or Personal Images" below)

Acquiring Image Information

The best way to acquire an image is to locate it somewhere on the Library's website, starting with Project One (P1) digital collections.  There are several important pieces of information that you will need in order to include the image in your LibGuide:

  1. Use images from LC Digital Collections -- https://www.loc.gov/collections
  2. Use keywords to find images -- You can search for images using keywords related to the type of guide you are creating. In the example above, the image is by the photographer, Dorothea Lange -- it can be found using the search words --> dorothea lange destitute pea pickers​
  3. Get URL for image's "Item" page -- Select the desired image from the list of results and display the webpage for the image; look in the URL box and you will find the address for the full item description (https://www.loc.gov/item/2017762891/)
  4. Use the Download" menu to display the image in your browser -- When viewing the item page you will notice that directly below the image is a drop-down box preceded by the caption Download: 
  5. Get URL for the image -- Select the medium- or larger-sized JPG image; this will open the image alone in a new tab. In the URL box, you will find the URL (address) for the image (https://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsa/8b29000/8b29500/8b29516r.jpg)

Image Caption Format

Captions are visible labels following an image. Captions are used for contextual information like date, creator, location, attribution, or links back to an image’s source. Alt text communicates content and context found within an image.

When including captions with images, please follow the format shown below. This format is unique to LibGuides at the Library and seeks to provide the simplest information about the image and its curatorial location. 

Creator. Title. Date. Collection Name {optional}. Division Name.

 

Including Rights-Restricted Images

Many images included in the Library's digital collections may only be viewed when a researcher is onsite at the Library of Congress. You will be able to identify one of these images while viewing the "item" webpage for the image (see screenshot below for https://www.loc.gov/item/2004673421/) which includes the message, Full online access to this resource is only available at the Library of Congress.

Image of a restricted image message from the digital collections

In general, it is better to avoid using rights-restricted images that are not directly related to the topic of the guide you are creating. If you decide to use a right-restricted image in your LibGuide, you must:

  • Use graphics software (like Photoshop) to resize (and crop, if necessary) the image. Ensure that the longest side of the image does not exceed 560 pixels in length.
  • Store the image in your program's web space on the RS7 (contact your your webmaster to upload the image to server -- you will link to it there).
  • Additional coding will need to be included to assure the proper sizing of the image and caption in your guide (see below)
<figure class="figure align-right">
<a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/2019630628/" target="_blank">
<img alt="" loading="lazy" src="https://www.loc.gov/rr/main/images/pride-power-map.jpg" />
</a>
<figcaption><a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/2019630628/" target="_blank"><em>Map for Pride Power &rsquo;94, a 10 Day Festival of Pride &amp; Spirit.</em></a> 1994. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.</figcaption>
</figure>

The following pages in published guides show the use of rights-restricted images:

Including Images from External Sources

There are times when you may wish to include images from external websites in your LibGuides. If you want to include an image from an external source, you will need to contact Hope O'Keefe (Office of the General Counsel) and ask for permission to include the image. In your request, please include the link to the image and any information about the image to aid her in her evaluation of your request.

If permission is obtained, please add a hidden box in your guide including the date and approval text for the inclusion of that image. For an example of this, see the Kendrick Lamar Libguide:

You will also need to create a copy of the image and save it in the Library's web space, but the image can (and should) be sized like the medium-or larger-sized images in P1.

Use of images under the Creative Commons license

Per Hope O'Keeffe: Images from Flickr Commons and/or specifically covered under the Creative Commons license may be used following these steps:

  • Create a copy of the image and save it in the Library's website storage (see instructions for screenshots and personal photos)
  • When including the image in a LibGuide, do not link from the image to the Flickr page; however, do link from the image caption to the Flickr page and include the "external link" coding
  • Include the appropriate license statement (for example: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International. CC BY-NC 2.0)
  • Link to the full license information on the Flickr site (for example: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/)

Examples include:

Including Screenshots or Personal Photographs

If you want to include a photograph that you or a colleague has taken of places or things at the Library, or a cropped image from a digital item (frequent in historic newspapers), you can use that image in a LibGuide. It is generally preferred to link to the native image in the Library's digital collections, but there are often good reasons to include your own images, or cropped images from a digital object..

You will also need to create a copy of the image and save it in the Library's web space, but the image can (and should) be sized like the medium-or larger-sized images in P1 (1024px wide usually works well).

Examples include: