Browsable images vs Digital images

By cwhermann28 on Wed, 02/23/2022 - 21:01

Forums

I am in the process of cleaning up and improving the consistency of my citation templates in my database and am looking for guidance on terminology to use with citing digital images located on FamilySearch, or other site that have not been indexed.

Many of the examples and QC Models use the term "Browsable images" to describe the item type/format, but I can also find examples where the term "Digital images" is used.

An even more confusing is the example in EE8.18 on page 392 where "Browsable images" is used in the Source List Entry and "digital image" is used in the First Reference Note for the same source.

It does appear that in the examples I reviewed, utilizing FamilySearch images, the term "Browsable images" is used in both the Source List Entry and First Reference Note.

Is there an important distinction I am missing between images found on different websites and those found on FamilySearch, or is it dependent on the type of image?

Thank you for your insight and guidance,

Curt

 

Submitted byEEon Thu, 02/24/2022 - 09:02

Hello, Curt. 

  • "Digital images" is the standard term.
  • "Browsable images" is a term that FamilySearch adopted between the release of the 3d edition of EE and the 3d edition revised. As it ramped up its digitization of all its microfilm, at a pace faster than indexing could be done, it adopted "browsable images" as a descriptor to distinguish their collections that had no index.

The 3d edition revised includes the term "browsable images" for the FS collections that FS described that way. The example on p. 392, is a spot where my editor's eye and antennae went bleary. Thanks for catching it. I'll flag it for addressing in the next printing or the next edition.

The kicker, of course, is that an FS collection that was "browsable" when the last edition went to press may be indexed now. For that reason, I am debating whether the next edition should use the term "browsable" at all. 

The bottom line, as you have recognized, is that words have specific meanings. As researchers, we carefully examine what we are using and choose the words that most accurately identify what we are using. What we should not expect to do is to copycat a rigid formula.

Submitted bygreglovelaceon Thu, 02/24/2022 - 10:07

EE, in my personal dataset, I am using the term "database and images" for anything that has been indexed and is, thus, searchable in a database.  I use the term "digital image" for something that is not indexed.  Just personal preference.  What do you think?  Am I off base here?

Submitted bycwhermann28on Thu, 02/24/2022 - 18:55

EE,

Thank you for the input - I decided I am going to standardize on the term "Digital images" for a couple of reasons:

  1. It is more encompassing, meaning I can use the same term if I am citing a digital image of a map (that I did not have to browse for), a page from a book that has been digitized at archive.org or an digitized image found on FamilySearch.
  2. Whenever possible I structure my FamilySearch citations to provide the DGS file number and specific image.  So anyone using my path to the image would not have to browse through the images in the same way I did to find the one of interest.

Thank you again for you guidance and insights.

Curt

Submitted byEEon Fri, 03/11/2022 - 09:14

Glad to help you think through the issues, Curt. In fact, it works both ways. Your questions help me to think through the issues as well.