Art and Architecture of Islam added to ARTstor
Professors Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair (Boston College), Professor Walter B. Denny (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) and ARTstor announced today that they had reached an agreement to collaborate on the distribution through ARTstor of up to 25,000 high quality digital images of the art and architecture of Islam from the personal archives of this team of leading scholar photographers.
Jonathan Bloom’s primary areas of research include Islamic art and architecture, the history of paper, and art in the medieval Mediterranean world. Sheila Blair’s major areas of research are Islamic art, especially the arts of Iran and Central Asia, the art and architecture produced under the Mongols, calligraphy and books. Walter B. Denny’s primary field of teaching and research is the art and architecture of the Islamic world, in particular the artistic traditions of the Ottoman Turks, Islamic carpets and textiles, and issues of economics and patronage in Islamic art. In reaching this agreement, Walter B. Denny said, “I anticipate that the availability of these resources through ARTStor will make it significantly easier for courses on Islamic art to be offered in institutions throughout the world.”
ARTstor Offline Viewer Instructions
It is with great pleasure that we announce the availability of a new version of the Offline Image Viewer. This new version (1.1.5) is available for our participating institutions directly from the ARTstor web site.
New features in Offline Image Viewer 1.1.5:
In the presentation mode, users now have several options to navigate through their presentations: a revamped right- (or Ctrl-) click menu, a full complement of keyboard shortcuts, and a new hideable toolbar.
* The right- (or Ctrl-) click menu provides the same functionality as it did in the previous version, but the options have been condensed and consolidated for ease in navigation.
* A set of keyboard shortcuts will afford users the flexibility to advance through their presentations from their keyboards. These shortcuts are intuitive: e.g. Page Up or Space bar for the next image. (For a list of available keyboard shortcuts, visit Help.)
* A toolbar that displays these same functions as icons, in a graphic, user-friendly way. It is discrete in design and easily hidden if users desire a clean view of the image. Mousing over any icon will display its purpose, as well as the related keyboard shortcuts.
The text of the data information has a larger, more readable display. Users can choose different levels of specificity when presenting image data, from brief to full to none.
The zooming function has been improved, so that users will see a greater degree of detail when focusing in specific areas of an image. They can also pan around an image by simply clicking and dragging around the image, or using their keyboard arrow keys.
An enhanced "Go to..." function will allow users to select an image from a menu of thumbnails, rather than a list of titles, when they want to jump to an out-of-sequence image in their presentation.
Instructions for installing the Offline Image Viewer:
In order to access the software, you will need to log on to your ARTstor user account first. Once logged on, click on the "Tools" toolbar item and select the option for "Offline Image Viewer Download". You will be prompted to accept the "Terms and Conditions of Use" before downloading the software. Click on the "Accept" button to proceed. A pop-up window will appear prompting you to choose between opening and saving the new file. Click on the "Save" button and select a location on your computer to which you would like to save the file. The default location is your desktop. The file is about 18 MB large, so the download can take a long time on slower internet connections.
Once the software is downloaded to your computer (the title of the file is "OIV_Install.exe"), double-click the program icon to open the file and follow the installation instructions. The installation is seven steps long and in most cases, you can leave the default install settings. The viewer is then available for use from that computer and you do not need to download it again the next time you want to use the program.
The first time you open the Offline Image Viewer, you will be prompted to authenticate the program by entering the same email address and password that you use to log into ARTstor online. You may then use the Offline Image Viewer to create presentations using images from ARTstor, as well as any local images that you may have already saved onto your computer.
Enhancements in Oxford Reference Online
Oxford Reference Online: Premium Collection is now live with the addition of over 2000 color illustrations plus new titles and editions.
EXCLUSIVE TO THE PREMIUM COLLECTION
Subscribers to The Premium Collection can now enjoy a significant enhancement of over 2,000 superb color illustrations from the Visual English Dictionary in the subject areas of Astronomy, Earth, the Human Body, Arts and Architecture, Energy, and Science. These images are selected from a total of 6,000 in 20 themes -- the complete book will be coming soon! http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t167
Have a look at some of the new illustrations:
Planets and moons
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t167.e113
Cave
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t167.e15
Respiratory system
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t167.e130-s1
Symphony orchestra
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t167.e155
TWO NEW TITLES IN THE PREMIUM COLLECTION
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre
Edited by Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak
This major new edition is accessible and authoritative, and is ideal not only for students and scholars of theatre, but for everyone with a passion for the stage.
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t149
The Oxford Companion to Canadian History
Edited by Gerald Hallowell
This is an indispensable new guide to the significant events, issues, institutions, people, and places that have shaped Canadian life from the earliest times to the present.
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t148
AND 7 NEW EDITIONS FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERS
World Encyclopedia
A thoroughly revised edition of this comprehensive reference work, with 700 entries fully updated. New material includes ready reference tables on a host of topics: profile of the Earth; peoples and countries; science and numbers; leaders; signs and symbols; and sport.
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t142
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary
This major new edition includes around 1,000 new words, together with a fascinating Word Histories feature, telling the often bizarre stories behind the origins and development of hundreds of new words. http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t23
A Dictionary of Biology Edited by Elizabeth Martin
The perfect guide for students of biology, this dictionary provides comprehensive coverage of biology and biochemistry, as well as key terms from medicine and palaeontology. With this update, there are 300 new entries and feature articles on important topics, such as genetically modified organisms. http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t6
A Dictionary of Chemistry Edited by John Daintith
The ideal reference for students of chemistry, this title covers all aspects of chemistry, including physical chemistry and biochemistry.
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t81
A Dictionary of Geography Edited by Susan Mayhew
Fully updated, this new edition features over 1000 new entries, covering a broad range of topics from chaos theory to the spaghetto model.
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t15
The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations Edited by Elizabeth Knowles
This new edition features quotations from key international figures from Italo Calvino and J.M. Coetzee to Toni Morrison, plus a brand new Soundbites 2002-3 supplement.
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t93
The Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary
Edited by Pat Bulhosen, Francesca Logi and Loredana Riu
This major new edition now covers over 85,000 words and phrases and 120,000 translations.
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t66b
