Rare Book GIFs

In our recent #HASHINGOUT Libraries Without Books post, we focused on libraries that mostly have digital collections versus print collections - but we would like to further give an example of how libraries can provide new experiences through the wonders of the Internet and digital technology such as this: allowing users to interact with physical books without ever touching them ourselves.

A prime example is the Rare Books GIFs from the University of Iowa Special Collections blog. A special collection's materials are restricted: you usually can't take items out on loan and sometimes you need special permissions to even see items, let alone handle them. These GIFs make this experience possible. Librarians at the UI Special Collections have gotten really creative with giving users a digital experience with the materials, like one of their posts featuring miniature books, where they created charming stop-motion style animations with the illustrations:



We have been having a great time finding more of these types of GIFs, like the ones created by Katie Birkwood on her blog (which pointed us to the UI Special Collections in the first place), Girl in the Moon.



These are examples of one way that libraries are innovating and creating experiences for patrons online - in a shareable, relatively stable, and (importantly) freely accessible format. You don't have to be a UI student to enjoy and appreciate the UI Special Collections and their creative GIF-ery. Ah, the beauty of the Internet.