GEODIL: THE GEOSCIENCE DIGITAL IMAGE LIBRARY

GeoDIL (a Geoscience Digital Image Library) is a Web-based image collection related to the Earth sciences. It is intended to interest a diverse audience including K-college educators, researchers, textbook authors, and the public. GeoDIL is a learning environment based on the highly visual geosciences. Initial library holdings were developed by GeoDIL staff from images in personal and University collections, but GeoDIL is intended as a geoscience community-based library. Image diversity and quantity will increase as library patrons submit their own high-quality digital slide or print photos.

We are developing a powerful system that will be easy to use and that will be integrated with larger federated library efforts. Library design has been the main challenge for the first year. To date, GeoDIL has a graphical user interface that permits access via a standard point-and-click Web page (http://www.geodil.com). Users may search the library using keywords in photo captions, by location, by photographer, and in many other ways. A user may also browse the collection by scientific discipline and subdiscipline. Search and browse results are returned as thumbnail images and titles. Images may also be viewed at high resolution. For classroom use or convenience, images may be stored in virtual carousels. Users may construct a carousel at one location and view it at another. They may download carousels for viewing remote from the Web.

GeoDIL is distinguished from other Web sites with geoscience imagery in 1) its presentation of high-resolution, downloadable images; 2) powerful search capabilities based on geologic processes, location, and chronostratigraphy; 3) integrated browse and search engines; 4) detailed metadata; 5) linked images; 6) the use of virtual carousels; 7) image uploads by interested patrons; and 8) ease of contact with GeoDIL administrators regarding any GeoDIL image. Besides its search and retrieve capabilities, GeoDIL's strength for a variety of users is the detailed metadata associated with each image. The image library is small at present, numbering about 2000 images. As the collection grows, educators and researchers around the globe will have access to a wealth of well-documented visual information that otherwise would be unavailable to them. GeoDIL will contain 10,000 images within the next few years.