Image databases on microcomputers: a low‐cost solution to information storage

Interactive video projects where a laser disc is linked to a microcomputer are a new trend in research on information transfer and library development. The high cost of these projects presents a drawback. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how libraries and information centres can increase utilisation of non‐book reference materials by using inexpensive microcomputer equipment for image storage. Collections of pictures, archival materials and maps can be stored by capturing the images on video and transferring the frames to a database on a microcomputer. The description and the image can be viewed together when searching the materials. The research project described here considers the quality of the pictures in the image database, as well as time calculations for image database production. The project aims at proposing a low‐cost solution to image information storage on microcomputers in libraries and information centres.