14 DIGITAL VISUAL LITERACY PPI, or pixels per inch, refers to how many pixels per inch are in a digital image. DPI and PPI are sometimes used interchangeably, but refer to slightly different measurements. You can view an image’s resolution by examining the details of the image. For PC users, after you download an image, right-click on it and select “Properties,” and then click on the Details tab. You’ll be able to see both the pixel resolution and the DPI. For Mac users, you can view the pixel resolu- tion by control-clicking the image file in Finder, then clicking Get Info, and then selecting More Info. How your students plan on using their images will determine the resolution needed for their project. Pixelated, low-resolution images don’t get their point across in a presentation as well as high-quality, clear images. If students are printing out images, using a high-resolution image is very important. A large JPEG or a PDF might be a good choice. While high-resolution images seem like they’d be desirable for all uses, that’s not always the case. An image that’s too large might load very slowly on a website, making it less accessible. IMAGE SEARCHING Once a student has thought carefully about their image need and has answered the questions outlined earlier, they should have a clear idea of what they’re actually looking for. Instead of just searching for a picture a student can use in a class blog post discussing the role of religion in British plays, you might actually be looking for a larger pixel resolution JPEG illustrative image of religion in drama that’s also appropriate for the general public. So, now that you have some idea of what kind of image you need for your project, it’s time to start your search. There are two main considerations in beginning an image search: where to search and how you search within your chosen source. Where to Look There’s no shortage of great image repositories available on the internet. However, where should you get started? It can be overwhelming trying to select the right place to begin searching for your images. This section will provide a brief overview of common image resources, along with their ben- efits and drawbacks, so that you can best direct your students to the image resources they need. There are two main categories for digital image resources: databases and other web resources. Databases As a librarian, it’s our nature to turn to library resources—like databases— when searching for an information need. Image databases, like ARTStor or Bridgeman, can be a great place to find a lot of images. Databases, with their
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