Introducing the new University image library

We're pleased to introduce the new University image library, an online collection of 10,000+ photos of campus, the city and university life.

All staff can access the full collection of images and use pictures for a variety of print and online purposes. You can browse by category, search by keyword and even check picture locations on a map. As you find images you'd like to use, you can collect them in a 'lightbox' which you can collaborate on with colleagues. Once you've made your selection, you can download full-resolution copies.

Non-staff, including external users, can access a smaller collection of images available to all.

Get started at images.york.ac.uk and take a look at our user guide and tips to help you make the most of the system.

We'd welcome comments via our feedback form. If you've any questions you can get in touch as always at digital-marketing@york.ac.uk.

Speed up your image downloads with Smush.it

Smush.it is a handy and incredibly simple tool for making sure that the images on your site are as small as can be, and hence will download as quickly as possible for visitors to your site

To use it, all you need to do is upload a bunch of files. Smush.it will compress your images, tell you how much smaller your new files are, and give you a zip file to download. There aren't any configuration settings to think about, making the whole process as pain-free as possible.

The savings will vary depending on how the images were saved in the first place, but I've seen reductions of up to 50% with the files I've tried out so far.

The compression is lossless too, meaning that there is no reduction in quality in the images.

Yahoo! Smush.it (via UCL Web Services Blog)