Digital image access: an exploration of the best practices of online resources

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the first phase of a research project that aims to develop a bilingual interface for the retrieval of digital images. The main objective of this extensive exploration was to identify the characteristics and functionalities of existing search interfaces and similar tools available for image retrieval. Design/methodology/approach – An examination of 159 resources that offer image retrieval was carried out. First, general search functionalities offered by content-based image retrieval systems and text-based systems are described. Second, image retrieval in a multilingual context is explored. Finally, the search functionalities provided by four types of organisations (libraries, museums, image search engines and stock photography databases) are investigated. Findings – The analysis of functionalities offered by online image resources revealed a very high degree of consistency within the types of resources examined. The resources found to be the most navigable and interesting to use were those built with standardised vocabularies combined with a clear, compact and efficient user interface. The analysis also highlights that many search engines are equipped with multiple language support features. A translation device, however, is implemented in only a few search engines. Originality/value – The examination of best practices for image retrieval and the analysis of the real users' expectations, which will be obtained in the next phase of the research project, constitute the foundation upon which the search interface model that the authors propose to develop is based. It also provides valuable suggestions and guidelines for search engine researchers, designers and developers.