Reverse Image Lookup of a Small Academic Library Digital Collection

Abstract

This article details a case study using Reverse Image Lookup (RIL) tools to analyze the reuse value of the digitized University Photographs collection at Loyola University New Orleans. A sample of 63 images from the digitized collection was searched using three different RIL tools. The results were then analyzed to see which RIL tool was the most effective, whether RIL is an effective and time-efficient method for determining reuse, and whether reuse is an effective measure of success for this type of collection. Existing literature on using RIL tools on digital libraries focuses on popular, well-known collections. This study is the first known published example of using RIL tools on a smaller, lesser-known collection and can help enable other institutions to determine if reuse is an effective measurement of success for their digital collections.