Leeds elected to the IIIF consortium executive committee

Appointment opens up collaboration and expertise sharing opportunities to advance digital sharing of cultural collections through IIIF adoption.

The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) is a set of open standards that can deliver digital images of rare and unique items from our cultural collections in ways that open up a multitude of new possibilities for collaborative research, teaching and learning.

The Libraries are implementing IIIF as part of the Digital Library Infrastructure Project (DLIP). The launch of IIIF on the cultural collections website is planned for June, to coincide with hosting this year’s IIIF International Conference.

[IIIF] enables the knowledge held within our collections and elsewhere to be available for all, which is a key strategic aim in our Libraries vision: Knowledge for all.

IIIF is also an international community, backed by a consortium of leading academic and cultural institutions including the Universities of Cornell, Harvard and Yale, together with world-renowned institutions such as the J. Paul Getty Trust, the British Library and the National Gallery of Art, among others. The Libraries Digital Transformation lead, Karen Sayers, said: “Being elected to the IIIF Executive Committee enables us to help shape the future of this critical technology and build a wider community. It also enables us to pay back to those who have supported us with our adoption.”

Breaking down barriers between cultural collections

IIIF is also a key component of the ‘Towards a National Collection’ project, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. This project supports research that breaks down the barriers existing between the UK’s outstanding cultural heritage collections.

Researchers can use IIIF to analyse and interact with primary sources held at different institutions, for example, by ‘reuniting’ parts of the same object held in different collections, comparing a sketch with a final painting, or compiling online exhibitions from items in collections otherwise only accessible via individual institutions’ local catalogues.

This opens up new research opportunities and can encourage the public to explore collections in new ways, giving broader audiences access to global cultural heritage.

Watch this DLIP video explainer. It’s a great introduction to the DLIP project, including a demonstration of IIIF zoom in action on a prototype website built as a proof-of-concept for the DLIP project.

Claire Knowles, the Libraries’ Associate Director: Research and Digital Futures hopes to lower the barriers to IIIF adoption across the education sector by using the role to advocate within local, national and international networks: “The adoption of the IIIF standard means that we can support smaller institutions and independent researchers, as it enables the knowledge held within our collections and elsewhere to be available for all, which is the key strategic aim in our Libraries vision: Knowledge for all.”

I’m delighted that our first contribution as executive committee members is hosting this year’s IIIF conference”

“I am really looking forward to working with the other members of the executive committee, helping to increase adoption of IIIF through our involvement in sub-groups like the Education Group.

I’m also delighted that our first contribution as executive committee members is hosting this year’s IIIF conference”

Up to 250 experts from around the world are expected to attend the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) Annual Conference, which runs from 2–5 June. Leeds follows Los Angeles, New York, Paris and even The Vatican in being awarded the honour of hosting the conference, presenting a multitude of new possibilities for collaborative research, teaching and learning.

Find out more about IIIF

A free showcase on 2 June is designed to introduce newcomers to the IIIF, who are keen to learn how it might apply to their work. Colleagues at Leeds are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible to take advantage of this unique opportunity. You will need to create a conftool account first to access the free showcase registration.

You can also find out more and keep up to date with the DLIP project on the Libraries’ DLIP blog series.

Watch out for opportunities to attend IIIF workshop sessions, delivered by the Digital Creativity and Cultures Hub, advertised on the Libraries events listing on the staff intranet.