----------------------------Original message---------------------------- You are invited to visit the Art Image Browser at: http://www.sils.umich.edu/Art_History/ The Art Image Browser is a searchable database of approximately 2000 images at the University of Michigan School of Information. During your visit, we invite you to participate in our WWW use study. Your feedback will help to identify and evaluate features needed for effective retrieval of digital images in a networked environment. Images and data for the database are provided by the University's Museum of Art, History of Art Slide Collection, Kelsey Archaeological Museum, and a private collection of photographs of Chicano murals. Viewers can search and browse by author, title, place, time, medium, object category, and subject, and can retrieve thumbnail images with accompanying records, and full-screen images. The three-year project is conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Michigan School of Information and funded by the U.S. Department of Education. A key premise in the research is that browsing can serve an important role as a strategy for retrieving image information. The research also emphasizes the user perspective in the design and testing of the system, and used an iterative approach which questioned art history, art and architecture faculty, librarians and students in designing the system. The Browser is being evaluated using four approaches: 1) a controlled study to evaluate its effectiveness in response to queries searched by domain and non-domain experts. 2) an ease-of-use study; 3) focused-group interviews to determine the usefulness of computer-based tools for providing access to images; 4) a survey of the experiences of the browser's use by World Wide Web users. C. Olivia Frost is the Principal Investigator, and Karen Drabenstott is co-principal investigator. The research team includes students at the School of Information, the History of Art Department, computer programmers, curators, and librarians. -------------------------------------------------------------------- C. Olivia Frost Associate Dean & Professor Information & Library Studies University of Michigan 304 West Engineering Bldg. Ann Arbor MI 48109-1092 Tel.: 313 763-2285 Fax: 313 764-2475 Internet: [log in to unmask] URL Art Image Browser: http://www.sils.umich.edu/Art_History/