Project Description: VISTAS will be a web-interfaced database that allows the user to access a digital library of images relevant to the history, culture, and civilization of Spanish-American nations. Its purpose will be to provide copyright-free images of Spanish-America that will serve as a pedagogical tool for scholars and students alike from a number of disciplines, but especially for Spanish language instructors at the college and secondary level. The subject matter or focus of the images includes a wide variety of issues pertinent to Spanish-American life. In terms of multi-disciplinary interests, the images correspond to the following topics: Agriculture, Archaeology, Architecture, Art, Ecology, Eco-tourism, Ethnicity, Festivals, Film / Cinema, Flora / Fauna, Folklore, History, Housing, Military, Music, Politics, Popular Culture, Religion, Sports, and Transportation. To see a complete listing of the categories and attributes view the Archive page at http://resource.wlu.edu/resource/default.asp?col=37.

The end product: To acquire the desired image the user will follow a series of hyperlinks. From an informational gateway page the user enters the archive, which is searchable by category, key word, or resource number. More than a gallery of photos, VISTAS provides a thorough taxonomy of categories in order to guide the user in associating the correct images with the desired field of study (see Appendix 1). The user may select one or more categories as well as one or more of the attributes. For example, "Mexico / murals / conquest," will reveal a series of slides from Diego Rivera’s depiction of the conquest, whereas "Architecture, Colonial, Facades, Ecuador" would result in pictures of churches in Cuenca, Ecuador. There are a total of ninety-one attributes within the taxonomy, thus resulting in thousands of possible searches for any given image. In this way, the "Search by Category page" serves as an efficient way of focusing on and delimiting specific criteria.

In addition to the "Search by Category" function, the user may also submit a query with key words or by using the ID resource number. Within the key word search the user may specify one of the following three possibilities: match any key word, match all key words, or match key phrase. Regarding the ID resource number, the database automatically assigns a sequential number to each image and then displays it on the results page. This function is useful for the instructor who has already previewed images during preparation and desires to access an image quickly in class without having to complete an exhaustive search. For example, "32, 110, 111" would efficiently yield only the three desired images on Costa Rica / Ecology.

Once the user submits the query, the database then produces a subsequent page in which the relevant images are displayed in a thumbnail–or reduced–size. (If a query results in more than twelve images, multiple pages are generated due to the time required for loading.) The thumbnail images appear in order of weighted relevancy. When the user selects the desired thumbnail, a secondary window appears with an enlarged version of the image along with textual commentary. As a final feature of this window, the user can toggle on and off a series of details, including the name of the file, photographer, date taken, and copyright information. For purposes of comparing images, more than one image window can be opened simultaneously. Appendix 2 illustrates the design for the thumbnails page and the secondary window.

The impact of technology: If the adage that a "picture is worth a thousand words" is true, then electronic images can serve to elicit better discussion in class. Specifically the in-class use of the database may be used to illustrate lectures, to review material previously studied, to seek divergent interpretations, or to aid in synthesizing concepts, among others. VISTAS can also be used as an efficient tool to elicit written comments as well, especially in conjunction with a discussion forum or email as seen in the sample provided at http://home.wlu.edu/~barnettj/wabash/visual_test.htm. In short, given the cost prohibitive nature of the printed image in textbooks, the Web provides an effective alternative tool if in fact one can locate the correct image. VISTAS is designed to serve this very purpose: to aid the instructor or student in finding the correct image, and then to allow the user to incorporate a copyright free reproduction of the image. In my own case, it will become an invaluable tool for teaching Spanish-American culture courses as well as intermediate language classes. Moreover, other Latin Americanists in the Humanities and Social Studies will also benefit from its use.

Collaboration: VISTAS will be shared freely via the Web. Furthermore, to ensure copyright free materials, VISTAS will seek contributions from a variety of sources but in particular from ACS professors and students. In this sense the overall project will become a collaborative venture which will grow and transform according to the needs of those who receive the benefits as well as those who supply the content. A final aspect of collaboration involves the template itself. VISTAS is designed in such a way that the ACCESS database can be easily shared among schools. Furthermore, as a generic template it will allow others from disciplines beyond Spanish-American studies to create similar collections.

Technical requirements and institutional support:The archive will be comprised of four major components: an informational gateway page, search engine, database, and digitized images accompanied with textual commentary. The technology used in VISTAS will make the final product accessible to any platform through a web browser. However, there are several technological demands necessary for creating the application. Specifically, VISTAS consists of an ACCESS2000 back-end database which is interfaced using Active Server Page (ASP) to generate automatically the front-end web page. The database itself resides on an NT 4 server running Information Internet Server. There are two major justifications that led to this type of arrangement. First, as for the end-user, my aim is to provide the greatest "cross platform" accessibility possible. Thus, the Internet is the logical medium to deliver the final product. Second, regarding the creation of the project, I have chosen to simplify the software and hardware demands since I plan to share the template with others on campus and at other institutions. Thus, I have deliberately implemented software and hardware that is commonly available. This will enable others to create or modify similar collections simply by utilizing ACCESS, an NT server, and disk space to store compressed images. The W&L University Computing has provided tutelage and the necessary equipment to carry out the project thus far.

Present Status and time frame:VISTAS is a long-term project, which was begun this past summer (2000). An existing prototype is available for viewing at http://home.wlu.edu/~barnettj/vistas/index.htm; however, it should be noted that only a few images and attributes are currently loaded for the sake of experimentation. Nevertheless, one may click on any of the following examples, among others, to yield a valid search: