The Guides to Good Practice produced by AHDS Visual Arts are intended to present a synthesis of information from our recommendations for good practice in the creation, management and use of electronic resources in the visual arts. They are published as part of the Arts and Humanities Data Service Guides to Good Practice series which include cross-domain as well as subject specific guidelines for our users. The AHDS Visual Arts Guides are intended to provide the visual arts community with clear and relatively jargon free guidelines for users at differing levels of technical knowledge in order to encourage the effective use and re-use of digital material. They are not intended as a substitute for the plethora of useful publications which already exist on digital information topics, but are intended to present a survey of current practice and what can be learnt from it. They will also provide references to relevant and useful publications, projects and resources.

Creating digital resources for the visual arts: standards and good practice [view creating guide...]

This Guide highlights examples of current practice in the creation of digital information in the visual arts domain, and makes recommendations for good practice in data creation, collection, description, delivery and preservation. It covers the use of domain specific resource description standards and the issues involved in the creation and use of resource discovery metadata for this domain. It also covers explicitly technical issues such as choice of data format and hardware and software platforms for a given resource.

A special section focuses on good practice relating to digital images. Other areas dealt with in this Guide, are the issues surrounding rights management especially image copyright, resource management, and the long term storage and preservation of digital material. The Guide draws upon published and unpublished material already available in these areas in order to provide a working synthesis for this domain.

The guide was produced in 2000, for the latest guidance on generic digital image issues see http://www.tasi.ac.uk/advice/advice.html

Authors: AHDS Visual Arts and Technical Advisory Service for Images

Using Digital Information in Teaching and Learning in the Visual Arts [view learning guide...]

This guide is geared to the needs of both students and lecturers as well as practitioners in the visual arts and focuses on how digital resources can enhance, develop and inform the teaching and learning process in the visual arts. Originally commissioned via the Computers in Teaching Initiative for Art and Design (now superseded by the Art, Design and Communication - Learning and Teaching Support Network), the guide is currently presented in draft form, to encourage further contributions, prior to print publication.

If you are interested in contributing to this Guide, please contact us.

Creating and using virtual reality: a guide for the arts and humanities [view virtual reality guide...]

This Guide concentrates on accessible desk-top virtual reality which may be distributed and viewed via the World Wide Web. It introduces virtual reality to those who are interested in its use within the arts and humanities and incorporates illustrative case studies. The guide is geared to the needs of the creators of virtual reality (including artists, illustrators and computer scientists) and of organisations who are commissioning virtual reality (including museums, galleries and university-based projects). It covers the history, philosophy and theory of virtual reality providing an introduction to methods and techniques used and to good practices in planning virtual reality projects. The guide does not attempt to cover all virtual reality technologies – this is a rapidly developing field and new methods are continually emerging.

Ensuring that the models produced can be used and enjoyed by the audiences for which they are intended is an important consideration for virtual reality projects. This guide looks at issues such as choice of virtual reality format, hardware and software platforms, documentation procedures, resource discovery and explores longer-term strategies for preservation of virtual reality models as technology evolves.

This Guide has been produced by the Archaeology Data Service and the AHDS Visual Arts.

Editors: Julian Richards and Kate Fernie
Contributors: Tony Austin, Rachael Beach, Aaron Bergstrom, Sally Exon, Marc Fabri, Michael Gerhard, Catherine Grout, Stuart Jeffrey, Mike Pringle, Damian Robinson, Nick Ryan, Melissa Terras, Kate Allen, Clive Fencott, Learning Sites, Anthony McCall.