The Visual Resources Collection consists of over  37,000 digital images and 370,000 35mm slides which provide comprehensive coverage of Western and non-Western art and architecture.   The VRC catalogue contains over 85,000 records, from both the VRC's own collection and the images and data from Archivision.  Although we no longer add slides to the collection, these slides are available for instructors to check out and use in their classes. Digital assets are growing rapidly, and are available for searching and download to registered users.  The primary function of the VRC is to provide a teaching and research service to History of Art & Architecture Faculty, and  to all UCSB faculty and graduate students .  The VRC staff can provide assistance with access to the various licensed and free digital image archives available, such as ARTstor, and can assist with implementation of new image technology in teaching.

collection staff  is always available to help:
VRC Curator: Jackie Spafford - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
VRC Assistant Curator:  Christine Fritsch-Hammes - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

location:  Arts 1250

phone:  805-893-2509

vrc hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

vrc blog: The Red Dot - stay up to date on VRC and ARTstor collection additions and other image news

image order form (PDF):  download the interactive PDF form here , fill it in, and email or fax it to us.

• Over 85,000 text records and 37,000 images from the VRC are available online through the VRC's digital image database on MDID: www.vrc.arthistory.ucsb.edu (now includes over 6,000 Archivision images and the Richard Ross Photography Collection)
  
• UCSB also has a license to ARTstor , a repository of over a million  images.  Access is available from any campus computer, and from off-campus after registration.  Click here for the ARTstor Quick Reference Guide (PDF).
  
• We maintain an extensive list of other sources of digital images which is updated regularly.
  

vrc training and support

The VRC staff can provide group or individual assistance with:

1. Using the VRC's digital image database (searching, image downloading, etc.).
   
2. ARTstor (searching, image downloading, using the Offline Image Viewer, etc.).
3. Contributing images to either online collection
4. Using other online image resources and understanding digital image specs.
5. PowerPoint and OIV presentations.
6. Image scanning and file storage.
7. Other services on request.
   
8. Note: there are also some helpful online tutorials for a variety of software and tasks linked here and UCSB classes linked here.
   

image digitizing options on campus

1.  Do it yourself digitizing

A.  VRC scanning stations (for Art History users only)

• There are two public scanning stations in the VRC, one PC and one Mac.   The PC has a flatbed scanner (Epson 10000 XL) and a Nikon Coolscan slide scanner, the Mac has an Epson V600 flatbed that can also accommodate slides.
• Bring a memory stick or a blank CD.  For a small order, you can also email files to yourself.
• There is a sign-up page beside each workstation - please sign up for a time or phone us to reserve. 
• Please book an orientation with a VRC staff member before you start.

B.  The Arts Library scanning station

• there is a large format flatbed scanner, with a transparency (slide) adapter (with CD burner, zip drive & floppy drive)
• book this at the Arts Library front desk (893-2850)

C. HSSB Computer Lab, Room 1203 and Ellison Hall, Room 2626 <www.lsit.ucsb.edu/labs>

• There are large computer labs each with a dedicated multimedia room

2.  Ordering images from the VRC

The VRC is actively building its digital image collection (no more slides are being created or accessioned).  If AH faculty require images for a course that are not already available digitally and would be appropriate additions to the collection, they can be ordered through the VRC.  Order forms are available at the front desk, or you can download the interactive PDF form here , fill it in, and email or fax it to us.  If you have a very large or ongoing order, please discuss grant options with Jackie Spafford.

3.      Instructional Development

You can order digital images at Kerr Hall’s Photographic Services (Room 1120, phone 893-2448, http://www.photo.id.ucsb.edu )

4.   Other Imaging Services

• Kerr Hall can still produce analogue slides (Room 1120, phone 893-2448, http://www.photo.id.ucsb.edu )
• some online options: for digital files from slides or prints try www.scancafe.com ; for slides from digital files try  www.slides.com   or   
  

slide lending

The VRC loans slides to:

1. UCSB Faculty for on-campus classroom use.
   
2. Art History Teaching Assistants for weekly sections.
   
3. Art History graduate students for seminars and lectures.
   
4. Graduate students from other UCSB departments for seminars and lectures on condition that prior arrangements are made for a faculty member to assume responsibility for the slides.
   
5. Museum staff from both the UCSB Art Museum and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art for teaching purposes only.
   

The VRC is a climate-controlled environment, with a stable temperature of 70F and stable humidity of 45-50%. This environment ensures a longer and healthier life for 35mm slides, but only if the slides remain there most of the time. Slides that sit in offices, houses, briefcases or cars for extended periods of time are going to have shorter lives - they will grow mold or fungus, warp from dampness and changes in temperature, and/or become discoloured.

In addition to shortening their lives, keeping slides out of the VRC ensures that they are not available for anyone to use. Our aim is to keep the Collection's slides in circulation as much as possible, and we request your assistance in accomplishing this.

The slides in the VRC are mounted in archival Gepe mounts, which are made of plastic and glass. These mounts protect the film, but they are also quite fragile - please do not drop, bend or otherwise traumatize them. When transporting them, please keep them in a stiff box, binder or carousel - do NOT put them in plastic slide sheets and lay them between books, in your suitcase, etc.
Many of the labels on our slides have old and inferior glue, causing them to fall off when handled. We are doing our best to retro-catalogue and relabel these slides; however they fall off faster than we can keep up. Please help us by returning loose labels with the slides they belong to.

Click here to view a list of links to online digital image archives.