The most common way to include an image in your guide will be to add it as an image with a caption. In fact, if you include an image from the Library's digital collections, you must include a caption underneath the image following the caption format instructions below. 

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.

Format for Captions

Caption information should include the creator of the image (if available), the title of the image (from the "item" record), the date, the name of the collection (optional), and the curatorial division. The title should be in italics. Separate each part of the caption using a period.

Captions for Images from the Library of Congress

You should link to the "item record" (for example, https://www.loc.gov/item/2017762891/) from the image itself as well as the "Creator" and "Title" portion of the caption.

The standard caption format should also be used for images from blog posts and online exhibitions. Rather than linking to an "item record," the "Creator" and "Title" of such images should link to the blog or exhibition page where the image resides. 

Captions for Other Images

On the rare occasion that you include an image from another source, or a photograph or screenshot supplied by you, the caption format will be slightly different. Include any necessary attribution or credits.

Using Images of Physical Collection Items

If your guide’s focus is on Library of Congress collections that are not yet digitized, there may be times when you wish to include an image that represents an item from the physical collections.  You will need to scan or capture this image yourself, crop and size it so that the width is 1024px wide (if the image will only be aligned left or right, you can size to 800px wide), and load that image into the SpringShare Image Manager.

Follow the standards for caption formatting, but do not link from the image itself or from the author/title portion of the caption (links from images or image captions should only be provided to the item in the digital collections, or other existing online presentation on the Library’s website).

Other examples for Physical Collection Items: 

• Scanned single image with caption for use on guide homepage, without a link to a catalog record: https://guides.loc.gov/hebrew-incunabula

This is a great example of a small and unique non-digitized collection which is the subject of this guide. One image is used to illustrate the homepage. But, instead of linking out here, it makes more sense for all of the catalog links to reside on the page for where the whole collection is listed, using Book from the Catalog items:  https://guides.loc.gov/hebrew-incunabula/short-title-list

• Scanned single image from non-digitized collection, which only has a catalog record at the collection level: https://guides.loc.gov/african-childrens-literature

Image is used as an illustration with no link. However, the link to the collection level catalog record is included as a Book from Catalog link right below.

• Scanned single image from a non-digitized collection, with link to online catalog record included: https://guides.loc.gov/16th-century-hebrew-books

This one includes the reference and link to the online catalog record with the new boilerplate text.
 

Adding Captions to Images

Within the Rich Text/HTML editor, it is possible to include images that are aligned right, left, or centered. Centered images will interrupt the flow of text, and it will appear before and after the inserted image. Text will flow to the left of right-aligned images and to the right of left-aligned images.

After the image has been inserted, you are ready to apply the coding for aligning the image and including the figure caption.

The basic structure for the figure coding looks like this (anchor tag coding is included to show around the image and around the title portion of the caption):

CENTERED

<figure class="figure"><a href="" target="_blank"><img alt="" loading="lazy" src="" /></a>

<figcaption><a href="" target="_blank">Creator, role. <em>Title.</em></a> Rest of the caption.</figcaption>

</figure>

FULL WIDTH

<figure class="figure align-stretch"><a href="" target="_blank"><img alt="" loading="lazy" src="" /></a>

<figcaption><a href="" target="_blank">Creator, role. <em>Title.</em></a> Rest of the caption.</figcaption>

</figure>

LEFT

<figure class="figure align-left"><a href="" target="_blank"><img alt="" loading="lazy" src="" /></a>

<figcaption><a href="" target="_blank">Creator, role. <em>Title.</em></a> Rest of the caption.</figcaption>

</figure>

RIGHT<

<figure class="figure align-right"><a href="" target="_blank"><img alt="" loading="lazy" src="" /></a>

<figcaption><a href="" target="_blank">Creator, role. <em>Title.</em></a> Rest of the caption.</figcaption>

</figure>